We have an excellent opportunity to distance ourselves from the field of humanity. In this turbulent time, we have hope that most people do not. We have an experience that they do not. We have a God with a plan and the power to back it up.
A lot is going on in our lives and the lives of the people around us that we do not like. It could be as simple as having to socially distance ourselves from people we love and we want to be with them. It may be the hardship of losing our job, or worse, someone about who we care. There is ample reason to be concerned.
God made times such as these for people such as us. This time is an opportunity to rise above the white noise of society to deliver a message of hope and peace.
Philippians 2:12-14, “For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and arguing.”
But to do that, we have to believe what we say we believe. All of this is part of a plan; none of this is a surprise to God. All of this is in His control.
It is human nature to want to know why. It is part of our DNA to ask questions with an expectation of getting some form of an answer. There are a lot of unanswered questions out there. How did this start, how bad is it, and when will it end? Will my job be there when it is over? What about my schooling? Will life go back to normal?
God has given His people an incredible opportunity for leadership. He has presented to us a chance to show the world who we are. We need to be the person that doesn’t spend time in idle speculation. We need to be the person who does not waste their time in forwarding the latest rumor. We need to stay calm and confident through all of this that God is in control.
We need to feed the positive force that heals.
At times it will be hard and somewhat irresponsible not to want to be part of the clamor for answers. God will provide the answers when the time is right. Many of the answers are not ours to know. That will not stop some people from proclaiming to know them. But we are different. We do not need earthly answers to questions outside of our control. God will give answers to the people he has put in positions to change things.
In most cases, that is not us. In some cases, it is. If we are part of the solution, our focus should be on implementing God’s plan.
We need to distance ourselves from the gossip and rumors. We need to avoid getting sucked into the void of idle speculation, no matter how sound it might appear. We do not need to know who did what to whom. We need to keep our eyes on Christ. We need to keep our hope in Him. We need to remind ourselves that we are not doing His kingdom a useful service by spreading speculation and stories.
Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report: if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about these things.”