There is no peace in the Middle East with the Taliban on the loose. We cannot forget the people’s struggles in Cuba. The people in Haiti are suffering from a recent earthquake, and people in New Orleans are battling a hurricane. Closer to home, fires are raging in Northern California, and two people that I know, who are great writers and mentor other writers, have evacuated from their homes hoping their houses are still standing. People are suffering and dying still from Covid. It’s a troubled world, so how do we respond?
Some people think that if they believe in Jesus or people who believe in Jesus will not have these troubles. They are incorrect. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV) Jesus never said that we would not have trouble, but that he would give us peace whether we have trouble or not. We don’t just have Jesus not to have troubles, but we have Jesus for salvation from sin. Along with salvation, Jesus gives us peace in times of trouble.
If life was easy and pristine, we would not need a Savior. If life was easy and pristine, we would not need anyone around us. Life is not easy. Hollywood created stories in the 1950s and the 1960s of how the creators desired life to be. Viewers took these shows as what life is in some families. No family was or is like what we see in film or television. Life is not a fairytale. So, we need someone to be there for us when the trials hit, and they hit. Many times, they hit hard.
We can look around at the world and see the troubles. We can go on social media and grouse about the troubles and the injustices. We can pray. We can trust Jesus with our trials. We can take the love of Jesus over those trials and serve the people who need Jesus who are in those times of trouble. For some of the world’s problems, we have no idea what to do, but we can serve someone in our own community, who then could serve someone else, and then they serve someone, and maybe it would eventually get to the people on the other side of the world.
Serving others in times of need is like throwing a rock in the water and watching the ripple effect. We never know that the small act of kindness can do for someone, and how that person can do a small act of kindness for someone else. If we begin to think of others over ourselves, then our world would be a much better place. If we would all spend less time berating others for what they do not do and focus on what we can do, then the world would have positive changes. The more we sit back and just spew our righteous thoughts and not have any actions, the world continues to spin out of control, along with any type of peace that we desire.
There are so many people hurting. We can choose to just demean and belittle them, or we can serve them. If we choose to serve the people around us, we are sharing the peace of Jesus with others who are experiencing trouble in their lives, and then we begin to experience the same peace. We don’t always know the troubles that people are experiencing, but if we know the one who gives us peace in time of trouble, we can bring peace to those who need it most. It’s our choice. We can bring cynicism, pessimism, or love with Jesus. I choose Jesus.
What a beautiful world it would be if we would be less about trivial issues (politics) and more about people. If humans were a higher priority in our society, more people would have access to the needs in life. Jesus brings peace. His peace may not be without conflict. His love may still bring us trouble, but he will always bring peace. May we all bring peace to those who need it.
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