The incidents from the past few weeks have crowded news outlet and our social media accounts. Not a single day passes without breaking news. There are breaking news everyday until we wonder if that breaking news still matters. It increasingly sounds more like the new normal. Nothing is surprising about that. In fact, the bombing in Manchester, while generating much interests, didn’t stay long enough in the headlines. The bombing in Jakarta didn’t receive much attention in the mainstream media. It begs the question: how much can we handle? Can the world handle this unending series of incidents after incidents? How do we make sense of the world that we are living in now? Is there anything that doesn’t change in the midst of this fast-changing world? It surely feels like chaos spinning at the top speed.
While it doesn’t make sense from our perspective, it is not the case from God’s perspective. Psalm 29:10 declares, “The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.” We might be overwhelmed by the unending flood and feel helpless to anything about it. We might not even have the chance to make sense of where the water comes from and how long the flood will stay. But we can do one thing: look up. As we look up to the Lord, we see that He sits enthroned over the flood. He is in control. He doesn’t change. There is no shadow of change in Him, and, therefore, there should be no shadow of doubt about His power and sovereignty.
When things are getting out of control, it is a wake-up call for us to look up to the Lord instead of focusing on our circumstances. There is no answer from the circumstances. The answer comes from above, from God himself, the Source of wisdom. If we realize how much we lack wisdom to understand the present circumstances, come to the Lord and ask Him for wisdom (James 1:5). Wisdom from above will enable us to remain at peace in the midst of this unfriendly world. Fear and worry will dissipate, and they will be replaced by peace and assurance (Philippians 4:7). This, in turn, will further fuel our faith to seek God and walk with Him. We will have that desire to follow wherever He goes and leads us. Even if our surrounding becomes dark and doesn’t make sense, the Good Shepherd holds our hand in His and makes His presence known to us.
Even when nothing makes sense in this word, trust in God. He loves us and cares for us. He is in control, and He will direct everything to work out for our good (Romans 8:28). In the end, our lips will glorify and praise His magnificent wisdom and love for us. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 10: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows (v. 29-31). If God does not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us, who can be against us? Praise God for His love and sovereignty.
Pastor Wilson Suwanto