When the Panicked World Said, “We Don’t Know!”

Then God said, “But I DO!”

Has it occurred to you that no one today seems to have the answers? Sure they may have opinions. But answers, true solutions? Have you stopped to notice that each authority has a new or different opinion? 

Has the lack of consensus about the pandemic caused you to panic or feel restless, unsure, shaken? How has it felt to know that even the most elite in education, prestige, knowledge, and wealth have no solid answers or solutions for the state of the world?

How does it feel to know that there is not an amount of money in the world or all of the brains on this earth combined that could heal what has transpired over the last four or five months?

What happens to your sense of security and stability when those you have held with high esteem and those you have long looked to for the answers say “I don’t know?”

Perhaps this is the first time in history when all of creation is looking around with shrugged shoulders and thinking, “what in the world is going on here?” And perhaps this is the first time in our recent history to face a pandemic, and we have no one to look to who has been down this road before and lived to tell about it. 

Where do you go to find the answers you seek? News stations, experts, doctors and government officials, and scientists. 

But, whom do you call on when those you placed your confidence and hope in come up short? 

We, on our own, are facing a hopeless battle. There are no human answers, no quick fix solutions derived by human minds. All that we contrive on our own falls short. This is not meant to be an “oh woe is me” message, but a message to face the reality of where we are today, and recognize that when we have nowhere else to turn but God, that is actually the best place for us to be. 

No one has the answers for the challenges that we face. No one, except Jesus.

In fact, Jesus is our only hope. Jesus is the sure foundation for which we can rebuild this shattered reality we now find ourselves. Jesus holds within his hands the answer to all our needs. Great and small. 

Jesus is the answer. Relationship with him is the only place where we can find complete peace.

It is, however,  the “unknown” that unites us. It is the lack of answers that draws us all to a desperate place or longing to feel safe, to find peace, to find health and healing. The “unknown” unites us to recognize our deep need for something bigger than this world can offer. 

We need Jesus. 

It is just that plain. And it is just that simple. We need Jesus. Now, when the world is turned upside down on its head. And we need Jesus when everything is going right by our own standards. Yet it is only in times like these that we truly recognize our desperate need for the unconditional love of Jesus.

On today’s Morning Cup of Hope I shared from Ascent to Know Him my 8-week devotional subtitled “Quest to Discover More God.” We are all on a quest, whether we know it or not, to find out who God is. There is a part of us, deep down inside that longs to know him. There is a part of us that longs to feel his unconditional love. 

Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But God is so rich in mercy and loves us with such intense love that, even when we were dead because of our acts of disobedience, he brought us to life along with the Messiah — it is by grace that you have been delivered.”

Can you imagine? How do you choose to love someone who acts in willful disobedience toward you. How do you choose to love with an INTENSE love someone who ignores you, blames you, uses your name in vain, defies you, rejects you, speaks evil against you? 

Seems impossible, right? And it is for us. But God’s love is not confined by human parameters.

Understanding and acceptance of His love for you will bring you a deeper peace and comfort than you have ever experienced. His love will bring you a sense of security that cannot be taken away by circumstances. 

I know it has been said many times before, but as many times as it’s been said it has been forgotten or not believed…There is nothing that you can do that will make God love you less. There is nothing you can do to make God love you more. God’s love is not based on you. God’s love is not about you. It is about his desire to be a loving Father to all. 

Choose Him or not. That is up to you. But He already chose you. He loves you, every wrinkle, crinkle and blemish. Every poor decision and mistake. He knows it all, yet none of it hinders his love for you.

More than anything today I want you to know, and I know God wants you to know his deep, ever-present, never-changing love for you.

When you have nowhere else to turn, I pray you turn to Jesus. You will find He has been there waiting for you all along. You will find that his love is without performance requirements, or qualifications. You will find that He loves you even though there is nothing you have that he needs. He wants to be with you. 

I leave you today with a message of hope. For brighter days ahead. Listen to this song by Rend Collective, Every Giant Will Fall, if a giant is before you today. Be encouraged to know God loves you, He is a safe place and He is fighting for you!