A (hopefully not too) casual
reply to a serious need, mailed in a few years back…
Does God give us anything
to tackle that element of despair and pessimism in the face of the (even more
so nowadays) turbulent and frightening future?
Indeed He does. Even a small handful of verses (out of dozens in Scripture) should more than ease our hearts on this point:
What might one deduce from the above?
Well, certainly that peace is a definite priority on the agenda of God for our lives - this gives us ever more reason to rejoice! Even though the world WILL bring a lot of pain, God is 'over and above' secular society and He promises us peace always as we abide in Him and ESPECIALLY during times of distress and trouble. Peace is also a 'by-product’ manifesting itself in us as we daily ‘walk in step’ with the Spirit (i.e. communicate with Him, obey Him, share Him with others, make decisions with His principles in mind, etc.)
To sharpen up the question above: Why should we feel joyful despite future judgments and trouble? Answer: Because God WANTS us to be! He insists that the reasons to rejoice far outweigh the opposite! And there are more than enough spiritual resources at our disposal to sooth our troubled hearts (e.g. His promises, the rest of His Body, His gifts, His plans, His Word and His very Spirit and Self!)
Peace of heart and mind should be something INDEPENDENT of external trouble (whether present or future!). The source and continuity of peace is found NOT in the absence of suffering, the resolution of intellectual problems/questions or even the occurrence of blessings(!) but rather it derives from the very personal presence of God and our continued indwelling in Him, and Him in us.
And this is why the peace of God transcends all understanding (Phil 4:7), for contrary to all secular expectations, it simply
· can not be ‘manufactured’ (like mind-control, hypnosis, etc.),
· can not be 'linked' to any particular 'success' event or situation (like good exam results, promotion, this girl or guy admiring us!, etc),
· can not be dependent on certain forms of knowledge (special info, higher IQ, etc.)
It comes gently when we trust God for it…nothing more; nothing less. Remember that I'm talking here about the peace of God(!), and not the natural psychological relief of things having gone our way or life being 'good'. We worry about the former, and we won't have to be overly concerned about the latter... ;>)
Regards,
AL