Not the way it should be
I’m troubled. Often. Things are not the way they are supposed to be. And that’s making it hard for me to enjoy life.
The murderous advances of ISIS and other terrorist groups are not the way the world should be. Few would argue about that. Nor are the undeserved suffering of innocents and the premature death of children and teens. But I grieve over much more than all of that. I’m troubled about young people getting wasted and engaging in casual sex, unscrupulous televangelists and faith healers taking advantage of the desperate and gullible, many others in the marketplace similarly motivated by greed, power, and lust similarly swindling the unsuspecting consumer. I’m deeply disturbed by the ubiquity of pornography, the assaults on freedom of speech and religion, the unbelievable attempts to redefine sexuality and gender, and the increasing rarity of what was previously common sense.
And don’t even get me started about the trash on TV.
Somber, sullen, and sad. That’s often my mood because of all that is wrong in the world. But how do I know these activities, occurrences and behaviors are wrong? Do I have good evidence that they are not how they should be? I believe I do. Yet that which darkens my disposition may lighten others’ because to them some of these things are oh so right.
Oh so right? Oh so wrong. Oh so depressed.
Oh so I don’t even know where I’m going with this post. Except to say that I would love to know if anyone resonates with my disturbance, and how you deal with it. I know God is sovereign and will accomplish his ultimate plan. I acknowledge that as “salt and light” we can have an impact on our world, albeit local and limited. The end of all that is wrong will come and Christ will reign over a worldwide kingdom of only good. But in the meantime…
In the meantime, in the interim fallen world we struggle and suffer through, all that perverts, distorts, or defies the good purpose and design of our Maker weighs heavily on every sensitive soul who recognizes that purpose and design. We, and everything in the universe, were created for good, and for glory. But our world is becoming increasingly saturated with evil and debasement.
Debasement. Where it’s dark, disheveled, and dirty. But we were made for the penthouse, where it’s clean, beautiful, and bright. That’s where I wanna’ live. That’s where I want everyone to live.
<Heavy sigh> Things are not the way they are supposed to be.
Why dwell on such things unless you have solutions? Rather, art, beauty and love, earthly and divine.
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Well, that’s good advice, Ken, and I do think I need to intentionally consider all the beauty and goodness in the world, as a practice. But I suspect that my disturbance stems partly from my sense that we should be doing something about all the badness. Not that we could ever totally eradicate evil, but that we should be doing our best to combat it when and where we can.
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And yet, we are commanded, COMMANDED:
Phi 4:4
4 Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice!
(LivingBible_Taylor)
God’s been training me in this very thing of late.
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Thanks for that reminder, Peggy. I know my will plays into my disposition, but it’s difficult and does require training, as you say. I need to post that verse somewhere where I’ll see it daily.
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I read this post and then read another that were slightly linked so I thought I would share: https://psucherunning.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/sermon-february-25-2015/#like-417
[hug]
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Thanks, Jill. This post was a good reminder that God can do miraculous things with the ordinary and seemingly limited. I suspect that many of us pray and pray for Him to make things right but His plan involves us stepping out in faith to do something which He then will bless and multiply. I so need to trust Him more on that.
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You echo so much of what is on my heart. The older I am, the more I yearn for Heaven! (I could not have said that in my 20s or 30s … maybe not even in my 40s.)
I think this is by God’s design. He orders our lives in ways that remind us of His sovereignty and it’s only as the allures of this world fall away that we begin to understand what a pale imitation this world is compared to the beauty of being in His presence.
“The grass withers, the flower fades away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” (I Pet 1:24-25) We’ve seen the grass wither and the flower fade. It takes a lifetime (and eternity) to comprehend the significance of the final phrase.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights. I too…the older I get the less I like being here. But since I don’t believe He wants us to withdraw from the world and wait for His return, though I would like to, I must remain aware of the way the world is. And it’s just so troubling.
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No question. As our hearts break over what we see and know, we become better at ministering grace and love to the needy world.
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