I receive many emails from Christians about how bad conditions are nationally and globally. Guess what? The emails neither inform me nor surprise me. Doesn’t the Bible predict a proliferation of evil and calamity as time passes? “In the last days perilous times will come,” Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:1). What surprises me is how morose and almost panicky some Christians have become by overdosing on our troubled times. Does Jesus’ legacy of peace and joy terminate at page one of the daily newspaper or at two minutes into a TV news broadcast?
Sure, we should be realistic about political and economic conditions, and we can vote and express our opinions, but we can also pray, witness, and live above the circumstances. Jesus said, “Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
We have a choice. We can dwell on the negative and let gloom and despair invade our hearts or we can be of good cheer and thereby defeat defeatism and reflect the truth that God is in control.
