“God, where are You? Our world is out of control. Our nation is out of control. I need You to show me You. I need something to know that You are still in control. Our world is not only sick physically in this pandemic, but we are also sick within our hearts. Brother attacking brother; sister attacking sister; family attacking family. Nations attacking nations. But now our own nation is attacking itself.
One nation UNDER GOD has been my solace. But our nation is not one nation. It is a nation divided which causes unrest within my soul!
Hope for peace continues to allude us.
O God, heal our world, heal our nation, heal our hearts!”
January 6, 2021. I turned on my television to watch something while cleaning the kitchen. As the television turned on, I saw images of our nation’s capital being attacked by my own people, my American people. The images were surreal as though watching a wretched movie. As I watched the American people attacking our capital, the symbol of freedom for all, my heart broke. I will never forget the image of one man hanging one armed from a wall inside the capital building as though he was playing on a jungle gym.
As I went to bed that night, I struggled to understand the sick feeling I had inside. When I awoke, I understood. I felt out of control. I remember watching the twin towers fall in 2001 and feeling the same feeling. There is a need in all of us to feel we have control over our lives. When things are out of our control it causes angst and anxiety.
Continuing in this pandemic, we have felt a lack of control. We have depended on masks and social distancing to give some semblance of our lives back. But this is not the true control that we yearn for. As I watched the attack on the capital building (I seriously can’t even believe I am writing that), I wanted control. I wanted to get on a loudspeaker and say STOP! I wanted control!
So, why doesn’t God wave His magic wand and stop all of this?
Why do things continue to spiral out of control?
Why are we just moving from trauma to trauma?
I DON’T KNOW!
There are times I want to cry out to God and say, “this is enough!” I want out of this pandemic and I want out of this strife. I want out long enough to take a breath.
Then I am reminded that my peace does not come from the world around me. My whole life could crash, but when my peace is anchored in more than my world, I will always have hope.
In the New Testament in the book of John, Jesus tells His disciples that soon he will no longer be with them. Jesus had provided comfort and direction for His disciples allowing the disciples some sense of control in their lives. When things had seemed out of control, they could always look to Jesus to provide the comfort needed. But now He was leaving, and they didn’t understand where He was going and why He was going. They wanted to follow Him to the new destination just as they had followed Him for the past few years. But Jesus told them that where He was going, they couldn’t follow at this time. This caused confusion and desperation for the disciples.
Sensing their fear, Jesus made this statement…
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27
Jesus promised the disciples that the peace they felt while following Him here on earth was a gift that He was going to leave with them. He would not take His peace with him to the place He was going but would leave it here to give them hope. He knew that when He left, they would feel a sense of loss of control. But once they grabbed on to the gift of peace that He gave them, their hearts would no longer be troubled.
Jesus’ statement, “I do not give to you as the world gives,” provides us with the hope that we need. We look to our world, our nation, our family, and even our material things to provide us with peace. But when those things spin out of control, we lose the peace inside of us. The reason that this happens is because our peace is resting in something that will fail us.
If I could have reached inside that television on January 6 and stopped the chaos that was ensuing, I would have. If I could have controlled the situation, I would have. But I can’t and neither can you.
The only thing that we can control is where we find our peace.
Jesus is offering us something the world will never be able to offer us. There will never be a “peace on earth” in our current life. But no matter what happens here on earth, we can have the peace that Jesus promised us if we seek Him.
I will leave you with these final words from Jesus…
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.
Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows.
But take heart,
because I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.” John 16:33
THE WALK 
I was telling my daughter yesterday that putting your trust and hope in people will always bring disappointment at some point. You will also bring disappointment to others. God is the only forever in life. God forgives completely.
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