Let’s face it, the past 15 months have been tough.
I’ve become more intentional about turning off the news. Not that I want to stick my head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich, but, looking back on the last year, even the last few days, the headlines have been anything but encouraging:
Ransomware Attack Shuts Down Pipeline
Coronavirus Spikes Still Taking Place
Suicides Are Up
Policeman Uses Excessive Force At a Traffic Stop. As a Result, Another Young Black Man Dies Unnecessarily.
It’s easy to worry. That conspiracy theory your friend shared in social media seems plausible. We’re bombarded with urgent warnings on all sides:
Get gas now or else you’ll be stuck.
Don’t get vaccinated.
Cyber crooks are going to drain your bank account.
You better build that underground bunker and stock it well.
Worry can make us irrational. It can rob us of our joy.
Now it’s true that I started a blog and Facebook group to inform and warn of dangers encountered online, but never for a moment would I advocate your living in fear. I do advocate vigilance and caution.
Yes indeed, the world can be a dangerous place. But peace and joy can be found in the midst of it all.
Consider the Apostle Paul of the Bible.
He chose to be joyful despite imprisonment, beatings, shipwrecks and impending threats to his life. He paid the ultimate price, but up to then was choosing Joy.
Why?
Choosing Joy regardless of personal circumstances doesn’t seem too intuitive, especially in a society that promotes pleasure over pain, seemingly at all costs.
Jesus reminds us in Luke 12:22-34 “Don’t be anxious. Consider the ravens. They neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse or barn, yet God feeds them. Consider the lilies, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
Find peace. Choose Joy. It’ll help you find perspective.
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