In Dark Times: why I’m not freaking out on facebook

We are truly in dark times right now. This I understand and am not naive to. But alas there are some ways I do not find myself reacting with the larger population when I see the realities of our world playing out. There are a couple things I keep hold of in my heart and mind.

1. I do not place my faith, trust, or confidence (or lack thereof) in what I see on the news or in the world.
2. I have to clamor for more of the important dependence of life instead of living in fear of what I see outside.

First, truth is not anchored in my feelings or my circumstances. I believe truth is anchored in God’s Word, and I will align all my confidence there. The Christian life is one of faith lead by Scripture (Jn. 15:7). In all parts of life it is critical that I have the Word of God and always ask, “God, what are YOU saying?” My ears need to be far more in tune to His voice than to the world around us (Ps. 28:1-2, 7). I am not moved by what I see, I am moved by what God says (2 Cor. 5:7). So is it does not matter what I see on the news; I do not pray what I see on the news, I pray what God says.

Secondly, a German philosopher said, “the more a man has in his own heart the less he will require from the outside; excessive need for support from without is proof of the bankruptcy of the inner man.” In times that are truly dark, I am more frustrated by own and others’ dependency on what they see outside themselves. My level of worry reveals the emptiness of my heart; it reveals how little I trust God. AW Tozer wrote, “Is it not a strange thing that in an hour when mature saints are so desperately needed vast numbers of believers should revert to spiritual childhood…?” We are in a dark time, yes, but I fear more for the faint of heart Christians with eyes dimmed.

We have come to be affected far more by what we see around us, and this is because we have not spent inordinately more time taking care of our inner lives. We ought to be clamoring to hear from God far more than we hear from FOXNews and facebook posts.

We cannot, and I do not propose here, we avoid reality by sticking our heads in the sand like an ostrich, but we also cannot run around like another bird with its head cut off. As my pastor, Banning said, “We are so impressed by darkness, we have all the statistics about it. My prayer life is not based on statistics.”

When Trust is no Trust

Trust requires a risk and fear.  Otherwise it is not really trust. The question commonly  comes, “What if you choose to trust and then you are taken advantage of?  What then?”

We can often allow this to obstruct trust.  We have, in asking that question, defied our ability to trust.  We have said that trust is impossible. 

Yes, it is possible to risk and trust someone, and it is possible that it will bring hurt in some cases. IF you make your decision based on a proposed fear or outcome not to ‘go’, then you have not trusted.

Trust cannot be dependant on its outcome.  If your trust (or lack) is based on the proposed outcome, then you have not trusted at all.

This applies both to our human relationships as well as our relationship with God the Father.  If my trust in God is based on whether or not he gives me tangible affirmation, then I have not trusted God at all.  If my trust in my Father is whether or not he moves me to FEEL his presence, I do not really trust God.

TRUST BASED ON THE OUTCOME IS NOT REALLY TRUST!

If I am disheartened and frustrated when God does not write on the wall, speak through a bush or audibly speak to my ears, then I have not really trusted in the Father.

If I spend the majority of my life demanding that God prove himself to me and assure me that he exists and works in my life, then I have not yet learned what it really means to trust God…to have faith.

We all want to be trusted.  “Just trust me, will ya!”  God is no different.  He desires to be trusted.  What sort of demands have we put on that trust?  We have so many ways in which we demand a certain outcome in order for us to trust in God, but that is no trust in God at all.  We have to learn how to trust God even when the outcome is uncertain…otherwise, we will not have trusted at all.