11 Points on Responding to Current Events

1.) Respond not react - The social media an internet age is cultivating a culture of reaction, instead of response. Reaction is just the first thing that comes out, whereas response is very carefully mediated and well-thought out. Responding allows for actual follow-through, whereas reacting generally changes with the wind and makes you unreliable and therefore difficult to trust or have authority in the eyes of those around you. It also generates the atmosphere of the emotions it was birthed in.

2.) Choose your battles - Not everything is worth your time and energy. You do not have to have an opinion about everything, and even if you do, you don't have to say it. Decide what will be helpful and go with that.

3.) Pick the most important things - In the last few weeks I have seen people walk away from God, talked to people who found someone who committed suicide, loved on people who just buried their father from coronavirus, and talked to people who are suffering from severe anxiety, isolation, and depression. When I see these things, I understand that compared to these, many other issues everyone is fighting over are trivial.

4.) Pour into other people and personal relationships. One of the problems is that many people do not have deep relationships and they are filling that need with social networks and are somewhat out of touch with what is really happening with real people-- and are even out of touch with their own selves. In isolation, we have to fight for relationships and not fill that need with social media. 

5.) Publicly emoting causes you to lose the authority of your voice. If you want to be heard and for your voice to count, don't publicly spew out everything that is going through your heart and mind. Create a group of safe people around you that you can share those things with, and with the Lord,  then when you come say something publicly, you will be heard. There is a saying, "A wise man once said nothing." It is true. That is why people listen to wise men when they speak. 

6.) If you are struggling with anxiety, depression, fear, panic -- get off media for a while. Detox from it. Then set limits on it. You will be amazed at the difference. As with detoxing from anything -- it takes a few days to "kick the habit." Give it 3 or more days and then you will start to notice a difference. I recommend everyone to take a regular detox from media. Put it in your schedule. 

7.) Right now, we all need to help each other care for our spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health. No one has it easy right now. Real lives and hearts are at stake. In all of our efforts to be right, let's not forget to be kind.

8.) True justice starts at the Cross of Jesus Christ and will culminate when He returns as King. The first commandment must be in first place in our lives for the second commandment to happen. Anything else is idolatry. (Matt. 22:34-40)

9.) Your view of the state of the world at the return of Jesus will affect how you respond to current events. Get your Bible open and study it.

10.) Everything high will be brought low and only the Lord will be exalted. If it's not humility, then it's not safe.

11.) I've heard so many ask, "Where are the Prophets?" The real ones are mostly on their faces weeping,  because the message hasn't changed,  "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven, and heal their land." (1 Chron. 7:13-14) And "Rend your hearts, not your garments." (Joel 2:12-14) That message won't change until we do it. And until we do it, nothing will change. 

Attack against Hope: Isolation

There is a corporate attack leveled at the Body of Christ right now of hopelessness and despair. This comes in on individuals in a way that makes them think they are the only ones feeling this way. Thoughts of rejection, isolation, and loneliness keep people from reaching out to express what is happening in their lives.

We must realize that this is a ploy of the enemy to isolate, accuse, and divide individuals from the fellowship of believers. If the enemy causes each of us to think that something is wrong with us and maybe we do not belong, then we will not reach out to other people in the body. However, when we do, we will find that those other people are feeling exactly the same way about themselves. If we start talking, we realize that those feelings of rejection, isolation, shame, and loneliness are traps from hell that are set to keep us from entering into fellowship with other believers.

Hopelessness and despair are meant to isolate us. However, we have a blessed hope—Christ in us the Hope of Glory! (Col. 1:27) He is our comforter who is our friend through the good times and the bad times.

He is also the “spirit of adoption” that has made us accepted in the Beloved, which is Himself together with the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:5-6).

Also, Christ’s finished work on the Christ is the hope that was and still is. His precious blood allows us to enter before the throne of grace with confidence (Heb 4:16).

Because of this finished work of the Cross, the writer of Hebrews says, “Let us draw near with full assurance of the faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our Hope without wavering for He who promised is faithful…” (Heb. 10:22-23)

Here, the writer is saying we must HOLD FAST to the confession of our Hope. Then as humans, we think, “I don’t have any hope…” But if we continue reading the sentence, we discover the source of our strength to hold onto Hope. We hold onto our Hope, because HE WHO PROMISED IS FAITHFUL. In order for us to hold onto Hope, we must focus on the faithfulness of God. It is this attribute of God that will strengthen us to hold fast to the confession of our hope.

Secondly, the writer of Hebrews goes on in verses 24-25 to admonish us concerning holding on to our hope. He then says “consider one another,” and “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,” and “exhorting one another as you see the Day approaching…”

As the author admonishes us to hold onto to our Hope, he first points out the basis we stand on—washed in the cleansing blood of Jesus. Then, he tells us the attribute of God to feed our Spirit with—He who promised is faithful. Lastly, he warns us from the attack of the enemy that comes to keep us in hopelessness—isolation from the Body of Christ.

It is time that we realize the struggles of hopelessness and despair are against the individual to isolate them from the Body, but the attack is corporate. We must join together and strengthen one another, exhort one another, and restore Hope to each other—even more as we see the Day approaching (Heb. 10:25). 

Tell Him How You Really Feel...

Sometimes we just have to tell God how we really feel. So many times, in an effort to be holy, we hide our true feelings from God. We don't want to complain. We don't want to cuss or say things that we know are against truth. We don't want to verbalize the lies going through our heads.

If we did those things to our friends, family, or neighbors, it would be gossip, strife, complaining, murmuring, etc. However, trying to hide our feelings from God is futile. He already knows them anyway. He already knows the thoughts in our hearts. He already knows the questions we have. He is not a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but in all points, He was tempted as we are; He knows how we feel.

In the Psalms, David poured out his heart to God. He told God the truth about what he was thinking and feeling.

The prophet Habakkuk was real with God about the injustice around him. He was honest with God about the skewed injustices happening around him.

Jeremiah did the same thing. So did Moses. These guys did not try to hide from God how they really felt in the name of holiness.

Now, they didn't go around complaining to people. That's a different story. They didn't "vent" to their neighbors. But, they were honest with God about how they really felt. They asked God those tough questions, "Why did you let this happen?" "Where are you?" "Are you going to do anything about it?"

Asking God those questions on a personal level is not blasphemy. It's honest. We all have those questions, and if we are not honest about it, it allows a wall to be built in our hearts against God. We can ignore those questions until we are blue in the face, but they will never go away until we lower the wall, and let God come into that place of confusion, anger, and mistrust.

Once we let Him into that place, He can bring healing and restore our trust. Then, we can go to a deeper level of intimacy with Him. But we have to let Him. We have to be honest with God.

When you find those questions coming up, get out a piece of paper and tell God how you really feel. Be honest with Him. It won't be pretty, but in the long run, it will open your heart to Him in a deeper way and give Him permission to come into those places of distrust and anger. It will allow for Him to show His love to you in an even deeper way. He knows anyway, but He is waiting for you to open your heart to Him.