Hello everyone! Today's post is titled, "What in the World? | Sharing Hope Despite the World's Troubles." This post was inspired by a number of responses from many people that would surface in response to current events that have been occurring in the world as well as my own feelings of disappointment despite having scriptural guidance. In the Bible, Jesus warns us that there'd be many troubles in the world and he instructs us to take heart because He has already overcome the world. For a Christian that truth can be reassuring when we meditate on it and put our hope in the faithfulness of God. Even so, it made me wonder how those who don't believe are coping and what we should be doing as Christians with the time and the knowledge that we have.

What in the World? | Sharing Hope Despite the World's Troubles 

I must admit that there have been things that I've been discerning since the shut downs in response to Covid-19. I kept coming across sources that I believe God was leading me to in order to understand some of the deception that would unfold and that has been unfolding for the past few years. I must admit that I did not take heed to the instruction to take heart or to cast all all my anxieties on God because He cares for me. All I kept seeing around me was the rapid progression of polices and interventions that were changing the world as we knew it and people blindly supporting the same without thoughtful considerations or evidence based testing. Fear is an overwhelmingly loud emotion and it is also one of the strongest motivators. I've learned this firsthand in my own life. I believe that is why God warns us to fear not so many times in the Bible. 

God reassures us that He didn't give us a spirt of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. He also assures us that perfect love casts out fear and that we are more than overcomers because He loves us. I'm not sure about you, but those truths inspire me and bring me hope, especially when I'm not being triggered by the threat of very real and scary things going on in my own life and the things around me. Yet, I'm beginning to understand that those fears and threats of insecurity are going to be a constant in life. That is why God reassures us that He is with us even to the end of the age and that we will find Him when we seek Him with all of our hearts. Even more so, He tells us that He is The Good Shepherd that has already given His life for us as proof of His love for us and that His sheep, to whom he speaks, cares for and warns, hears His voice and follows Him. Jesus also made it clear that, concerning His sheep, they will not listen to the voice of a stranger nor will they follow it. God is telling us that there will be shepherds who are not good and who do not love us and who will lead us astray if possible. Those shepherds could be anyone, including world leaders, bosses, relatives, friends, or even pastors. It is the Holy Spirit who we receive when we believe who will lead us into all truth and we can be assured that the leaders who are listening to The Good Shepherd will hear the same voice being spoken by the Lover of our souls, our Helper, the Holy Spirit of God. 

So, What should the Christian Response Be?

As I cried out to God and asked for comfort and help in my distress, I believe that God led me to the Verse of the Day in the Bible App found in Romans 10:14 that states, 

How then shall they call on him in who they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 

This verse touched me because so much of the distress that I felt was due to my concern for people made in God's image who had been deceived by certain policies and interventions who were being affected in their health or were experiencing the pain of those around them being affected. There are also interventions that are continuing to be released and policies that are continuing to bring us closer to a world far from what God's initial design was for us all. We as people in our pride cannot think that our efforts to experiment with or alter processes made by God or things created by God in nature are without risks. Risks that may be more serious than we can ever know naturally and spiritually. 

I've personally warned and given messages inspired by scripture concerning our bodies being a temple of the Holy Spirit and about God being our Good Shepherd in whom we should place ALL of our trust. Whether those around me or who have come across my messages takes heed or not is not my responsibility. I believe that our responsibility as followers of Christ is to preach the good news of the gospel to ALL creation and to share that hope with others rather than curling into a ball and hiding away waiting on our deliverance from this dark world. We have to remember what a privilege it is for God to have given us the gift of salvation and the knowledge of the truth. God loves us that much and His Word also tells us that it is not His wish that ANYONE should perish, but that ALL would come to the knowledge of God. In fact, ". . . God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Because we love God and because He has placed His love inside of our hearts, our response should be that of love as well. People are hungry for the truth and dismayed by so much that we are seeing unfold in the world. We have the answers and we know the truth. 

Preach the Gospel

So it goes back to that verse of the day. How will people know that all who call on the name of the Lord (Jesus Christ) shall be saved if we don't preach it? We need to shout it on the roof tops and share the gospel with those in our lives and beyond. God is faithful to reveal Himself to them and to lead them into all truth to combat the lies and deception here in this world presently and the deceptions to come. The question is will we be obedient to do our part in spreading the message of hope and walking in the good works God has prepared for us before time began? I hope we all choose to do so courageously with all the love we'd desire for others to show us through warning us and revealing the answer to all of the issues in our lives and in the world around us. The way, the truth, and the life is found in our savior, Jesus Christ. 

I hope this message was inspiring and encouraging. God loves you beyond what you could even imagine. Just believe it! Until next time,