Darkness with Light

Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

Shiloh read our morning devotions today be our kids started working on their homework. The passage was from Philippians 4:6. “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

I silently thought, how hard is that passage to follow right now?! I certainly know that our difficulties with COVID are not the only stressors that anyone has ever felt. Like, I’m thinking about the Nuclear Scare, the Cold War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, with kids being taught to hide under their desks if the alarm went off. Like hiding under a desk would do anyone any good if a nuclear bomb hit. That constant state of anxiety and wondering what will happen next wears people down. Hope, patience, and endurance all run really thin. 

That’s not much different than what we are experiencing. The deluge of information, often conflicting information. People that we love and trust telling us different things. Hopes for a vaccine but fear about the vaccine. I had a conversation with someone today who told me the vaccine was a government conspiracy that would have nano-bots in it to track people across the world. It’s information overload with little feeling of knowing truly who or what can be trusted. It doesn’t help that we have gone through and are going through a contentious election cycle. 

Then we hear these words to pray with thanksgiving. How does that work?

I think as often, perspective is important. I can’t tell you how many people are convinced we are in the end times right now because of the political craziness and pandemic. Here’s an interesting tidbit about the way the Bible describes when the last day will come. Take a moment and read Revelation Chapter 18, the Fall of Babylon. Here is an excerpt, “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore…” What we find in the description of the last day is that everyone will actually be feeling good about themselves, buying and selling, living a life secure as if they don’t need God or as if they are god. When people are the most secure in their sin is when it seems the God’s Word describes the end of this creation will come. 

So that tells us, that what we are going through, has been gone through before and will be gone through again. Our brothers and sisters in Christ made it through the pandemic of the 1900’s and we will make it through this as well. 

So, the question really is, how do we make it through the craziness well? That is where this passage from Philippians comes into play. Confronting the craziness does not come by accident but on purpose. Praying often and well with thanksgiving for all the goodness in our life and the very fact we have life itself will go a long way to securing and stabilizing our hearts and mind in the security of our Savior Jesus. Be in worship. Pray and be with your Church family as often as possible in whatever ways are possible. Read your Scripture. Practice your faith. Combat darkness with light, evil with good, fear with hope, anger with love, and pray with thanksgiving.