Comfortably Numb

My childhood and young adulthood were not filled with the tragedies that most of our children witness in this day and age. I will never forget watching live footage of President Ronald Reagan being shot. I will never forget watching the crew of the Challenger die in that Space Shuttle.  None of us will ever forget 9/11.  Those events, for a child or teen, were almost too much to comprehend. They left a sadness in our soul.

Today our children see, on the news and internet, one tragedy after another each and every single day. It is so much to process that I am sure we all start to tune it out. Become comfortably numb to the fact that our nation has gone stark raving mad. We are exposed to so much sex and violence that I feel certain many teens and young adults have no idea that there is evil in the world. In their reality it's all normal.

I remember when our girls were little I would only listen to country music or Christian pop/rock music in the car. At that time country music was as all American as you could get. Today? Not so much.  My husband and I tried the best we knew how to keep their minds on what was righteous and true. Believe me if I could have bubble wrapped them I would have. We held on so tightly that we forgot to let God step in and take over at times.

So what's your point, Elizabeth? My point is that we are on the cusp of the most out of control, history making, unbelievably corrupt, evil, over sexed, satanic period of the world. Some cable news stations will scare you to death. Others will bore you to death. There is so much happening in our world that the media doesn't even keep up with it all. It is important that we stay vigilant. We need to understand our surroundings. But we don't need to hold on so tightly that we don't allow God to step in.

Among all the crazy there is a calm. His name is Jesus. Yeshua.   Christ. Lord. The King of Kings.  He never changes. He never wavers. And He is, according to the scriptures, coming back for His Bride. You and Me. Isn't that exciting?! 

My favorite image comes from the scripture Isaiah 40:30:

 "But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint".

When the eagle is teaching its young to fly she drops them out of the nest and let's them free fall. And then that mama eagle swoops down under the baby eagle and lifts it up on her back. The mama eagle then covers her baby with her wing. She protects and shelters it from harm in the nest.  Isn't that beautiful?

In the coming year(s) we are going to want to faint. We will become weary. If we keep our eyes on Jesus Christ? When the time is right He will swoop down pick us up. He will shelter us through the coming storms. The bible tells us that God searches the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). 

Be alert. Pay attention. Understand what is going on in our world. But don't let it overwhelm you. Don't let it scare you. Don't let evil stop you from showing the world your love of Christ. Take solace in knowing that He will search the whole world for us. He will cover us. Protect us. Love us. 

The world may be changing but the King of Kings Lord of Lords is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Amen.

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you"-James 4:8