In a Changing World, We Can Rest Assured That God Remains the Same
It feels like we have been thrown to the bottom of life’s ocean by the circumstances that surround us. Unrest, political conflict, shifting truth, and polarization on virtually every subject have been hitting us from all sides, as if we are in an emotional tsunami without end.
The feelings of uncertainty, fear, and even hopelessness ebb and flow weekly, even daily. We didn’t know it when the shift began in the spring of 2020, but the world as we have known it has been altered. I don’t see that becoming any less true in the days ahead.
How to Find Hope When the World Seems Crazy
Yet, I am not without hope. I have lived long enough to recognize God’s presence in our world even when the clamor surrounding us makes Him seem so very distant. It’s when we look to Him that we find that hope. God has been among His people in all of history, and He is still here today.
What we need to rest in is that even though the world has changed, God has not. We should choose to follow His pattern, not the world’s.
Whatever this world throws our way, God has something so much better…
This world creates anger; God offers grace.
This world views us as collectives; God views us as individuals.
This world desires conformity; God offers transformation.
This world interprets our actions; God understands our hearts.
This world produces fear; God gives us peace.
This world expects perfection; God loves us as we are.
This world requires we go to them; God comes to us.
This world condemns; God redeems.
This world divides; God unifies.
This world is fickle; God is faithful.
The light God offers this world removes the darkness and dispels shadows, replacing it with joy. As those who follow Him, we should reflect that light as well. Displaying all of what God is to a changing world that needs Him deeply.
Suppose we can be those people and offer that light. Then perhaps what was said of Paul and Silas in the book of Acts will be said of us: “These men who have turned the world upside down, have now come here.”1
To turn the world upside down, disrupting the clamor of this world and infusing the promise of something better by sharing God’s unfailing love. And if we do, it can settle the storms surrounding us and bring hope to this ever-changing world, to those who so desperately need it, now more than ever.
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Where does God come in when life is difficult and society seems to be in turmoil? In this podcast episode, Darlene and Julie discuss all the ways that we can co-exist as strong women who look to God in their day-to-day: Grit and Grace, but What About God? – 105
We sometimes doubt if God will still intervene for us when we feel like we’re just a mess. Watch this video, and be encouraged that God indeed loves messy people…