Fear of Global Problems

The rescue of the miners in Chile this week was a nice news story to have because what we usually hear these days is not good news. We are fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and dealing with hostile dictators seeking nuclear weapons in North Korea and Iran. We have witnessed unbelievable devastation and the lose of life due to an earthquake in Haiti, flooding in Pakistan and ongoing famine in Africa, and we face deep political divisions creating contentious elections in our own country. Add to this our economic problems and the world is a scary place right now and one of the things we fear is that things might get worse. Well today I have some bad news for us all, it will get worse. It’s not that I’m a pessimist and it’s not that I don’t believe that God can overcome evil and bring about justice, mercy, love and peace because I do, I really do, but I also know that according to Jesus, things are going to get bad and so we need to be prepared. Now when I say we need to be prepared, I’m not talking about stock piling canned food in our basements. I had a friend who wanted to do that when we faced the Y2K scare 10 years ago. He wanted to have enough food for a couple of months in the basement but I told him that if I had the food and there was some kind of global crisis and people were hungry I’d have to give it all away, so it was easier to not stockpile the food and just trust God to work out all the details of the new millennium, and God did.


As we face potential and growing global problems and fears, the way to be prepared and face those fears is to do what? We fear less when we “trust more” and that was the message Jesus was trying to instill in his disciples. It was near the end of Jesus life, maybe even during the last week of his life when Jesus was teaching in the Temple in Jerusalem. Now the disciples had not spent a lot of time in the Temple and so as they walked around they were amazed at the sheer size of the stones. These stones were huge and they appeared as if they would never be able to be moved and this gave people a sense of security. They believe that no matter what came at them, the Temple would stand, and if the Temple stood, if those stones stood, the people would be safe but what Jesus says to the disciples and what he says to us today is that we can’t trust in the stones or the institutions or any of the things around us to give us strength because the things of this world will not last. The stones will not last, the institutions will not last, the political structures will not last and it won’t be long, Jesus says, until things get bad. Implicit in Jesus words here is the message don’t trust in the stones - trust in God. Don’t trust in the things of this world, don’t trust in the leaders and the institutions of this world, don’t trust in the science and logical reasoning of this world – trust in God and start trusting in God now because things are going to get bad, and Jesus talks about just how bad it is going to get. Matthew 24:5-14.

Jesus starts by telling his disciples that there is going to be a coming spiritual crisis. Many will come saying that they are the Messiah but they won’t be and they will lead people away from God and the truth. In 24:11 it says that many false prophets will come and lead people astray. There will be false teaching and false teachers who will come saying that they speak for God and they will say they are speaking in the name of Jesus and their words will sound good, but they will not be filled with the spirit of God and they will lead people away from God and fill their hearts and minds with lies and half truths.

But it is not just a spiritual crisis that is coming; there will also be political upheaval, look at Matthew 24:6-7a. All we can say here is that Jesus was right. There have been wars and rumors of war from that moment on. Civil wars, regional wars, world wars, terrorist attacks and wars against terrorism, just wars, unjust wars, holy wars, unholy wars – from the moment Jesus said this until today there have been wars and rumors of wars and every generation finds new issues to fight about and unfortunately new ways to fight and the wars wage on today.

But the crisis doesn’t end there; Jesus goes on to say there will also be ecological problems and disasters, look at Matthew 24:7b. And we have seen famines and earthquakes but we can add to the list hurricanes, floods, tornados, volcanoes, draught, tsunamis, blizzards and more. You name it and we have seen it and whether we believe it all comes from global warming, climate change or just part of the way God created the earth doesn’t really matter. These problems will continue and there is nothing we can do stop them. We can’t stop an earthquake or a drought or a flood, natural and ecological problems will come.

But the crisis doesn’t end there; Jesus goes on to say that on top of the spiritual, political and ecological problems we face there will be personal problems as well, look at Matthew 24:9. Because of our faith and trust in God we will be misunderstood, hated, persecuted and some will be tortured and killed, and we see this taking place today. There is a growing cynicism toward Christians and the Christian faith, just this week in USA today there was a half page editorial ridiculing Christians for our faith and saying that in some way we have been the cause of all the world’s problems. To be honest, the church throughout history has created some of the problems we have experienced, but we have also worked for answers and justice and mercy. So we have been misunderstood and are still misunderstood today and there are those who are being persecuted. Today there are followers of Jesus who are risking their lives to take a stand. Just this past month in China, India, Pakistan and Iran Christians have been detained and imprisoned for their faith and this persecution leads thousands of believers to live in fear and isolation. Persecution is real in our world today and Jesus said, it will continue and it will get worse.

So as the disciples are looking at the stones and feeling pretty confident and secure in their lives, Jesus opens their eyes with the truth that trouble is coming. The world is going to face spiritual confusion, political crisis and wars, ecological disasters and those who stand firm in him will be persecuted, but then in the middle of saying all of this Jesus says, but don’t be alarmed. Actually the word here is a little stronger than alarmed or even afraid; it’s more like panic or freak out. What Jesus is telling us is that in the face of all these global problems we are not to panic – but I almost want to say to Jesus – too late!

When we look at all that is going on in the world it is alarming and unsettling and it is easy to give in to the panic and fear, but we don’t have to because God gives us an answer to the panic, and he gives us a way out of the fear, but it’s not an easy way. There is no quick fix or simple formula to casting out fear, the answer to trusting more and fearing these global problems less is a life completely committed to God and we find this answer in Psalm 27.


As we look at the first few verses we see that David is facing opposition, persecution and war, Psalm 27:1-3, but he will not be afraid because God is his light and salvation. David is not panicking here and as we keep reading in Psalm 27 we not only find out why he is not afraid but we the see the way out of fear ourselves.

Psalm 27:4-6. When we hear: to dwell in the house of the Lord, to behold the beauty of the Lord, to seek him in his temple, to offer sacrifices of joy and sing and make music to the Lord. The image of that comes to mind is one of worship. When they gathered in the Temple to seek God – that was worship. When we come to offer sacrifices of joy and make music to the Lord – that is worship. In worship we come to give ourselves to God and when we do we find in the presence of God the strength and power to face the problems of the day. If we are living a life of worship then we will be safe and secure in the day of trouble, isn’t that what it says in verse 5? The more we worship God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength – the more power we receive and that power removes fear and provides strength to stand firm in the midst of the problems.

Along with a life of worship comes a life of prayer, look at 27:7. When trouble comes, when we see it on the horizon we need to pray and ask God for his mercy and his strength. Sincere, authentic prayer is effective – it may not always bring the answer we want, but it can give us the strength to face the problems and fears we face. And let me say that the prayer God calls for can’t just be our own personal prayer – we need to be praying with others. Something happens as we pray with others, first of all – the promise God makes with us is that when 2 or more pray together Jesus is there and when Jesus is present there is power to stand firm and love to cast our fear. I hope you will find a prayer partner or seek out someone not to pray for you but to pray with you and then next time someone shares a problem don’t say, I’ll pray for you – pray with them and together you will not only overcome fear but you will find the strength and power to face the problems that come.

Psalm 27 not only tells us that worship and prayer are important but if we to stand strong in the face of all the global problems that are coming then we also need to study – look at Psalm 27:11. Teach me your ways, O Lord, lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. It is important for us to study God’s word because Jesus said many are going to be coming in his name and will try to lead us astray. He said false prophets and false teachers will come and the only way we will know if they are speaking truth or lies is if we know the truth. In the face of spiritual confusion and questions, we need to know how God call us to live in this world. We need to understand clearly what it means for us to follow Jesus and reflect the love and light of Christ into the world. I don’t know about you, but I don’t always know what following Jesus is going to look like in the face of the global problems that we face, but I do know that if I am going to figure it out, I am going to need to study God’s word and ask people to help me understand it and then live it out.

So the answer to the panic that sets in when we see the global problems today and when we hear about the coming problems of tomorrow is to live a life of worship, prayer and study. These three things will make a difference in our lives and if we give ourselves to this life there will be an added bonus – we will be part of a community that will help us in times of need. Look at Acts 2:42. These early followers of Jesus were going to face strong opposition, ecological problems and a war in a few years, in fact it was about 30 years later that Rome come into Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple, those stones Jesus said would come crashing down came crashing down, but the followers of Jesus remained strong because they were committed to a life of learning (devoted themselves to the apostles teaching), to worship (the breaking of bread) and to prayer. Those three things made all the difference and they can in our lives as well. The day will come when we will need to gather together as God’s people and support one another, care for one another and remind each other of the truth of our faith, if we are living a faithful life together now – it will be easy to fall back on that when things get bad, and remember… Jesus said things are going to get bad, but do not give up because there is one last thing that can help us overcome fear in the midst of all these global problems and that is the knowledge that no matter what happens, God wins in the end! We can never forget that while things might get bad, really bad, we know the end of the story and in the end… God wins, God is victories. Again, we see that in Psalm 27:13-14. Even when everything around us is falling apart and things look bad we need to keep our eyes focused on the final victory. If we are faithful – we will see the goodness of God prevail and that hope can help us to trust more and when we trust more we… fear less.