Hope In An Unstable World (identity magazine)

Has the entire world gone insane?” It’s tempting to ask, isn’t it? Political polarities—battling it out over issues like climate change, the global pandemic, or the challenges of our racialized society—have divided families and our churches. Those boring school board meetings suddenly became shouting matches. Throw in the riot at our nation’s Capitol, and a range of violence from the Oscars’ overly-analyzed “slap heard round the world” to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine—it can leave us disheartened and disoriented. On top of that, pile a COVID school year and the heightened anxiety arising from social media… How are followers of Jesus to think about truth, hope, or peace in such a crazed and divided world? How did things get like this? How do we manage? Where do we start?

A good place to start is always with ourselves—taking personal inventory. Back in the ‘60s, people joked about young adults saying, “I gotta go find myself.” (Where do we find our identity?) Another oft-heard phrase was, “What’s it all for?” (Where do we find our purpose?) These were years of great instability, and a measure of fear. It was the era of the Cold War, civil rights, the Vietnam war and ensuing protests, the assassinations of President Kennedy, his brother Robert, and Martin Luther King, Jr., along with “drugs, sex, and rock and roll.” It was a turbulent period, leaving many with a rather grim and/or cynical outlook on the future. But it was also a time of spiritual revival, evidenced in part by the Charismatic Renewal and the “Jesus Movement.” God is always at work, even in the bleakest times.

So, how does a disciple of Jesus Christ navigate the challenges of our day while fending off the damaging effects of a fallen world? Let’s return to our earlier questions: where do we find our identity and purpose in life? Discovering who we are and why we are here goes a long way in guiding our steps. Obviously, our best example of this is Jesus Christ. His crystal clarity on these points positioned him to wonderfully accomplish his mission and achieve total victory over the sin and death that shrouds our world in darkness. As Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” He declared his mission in Luke 19:10: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Through our identity in Christ we find sure hope; his Word lights our path (Psalm 119:105). When our lives are shaped by his life, rather than by the world around us, we need never shrink back from what lies ahead.

One example of this is Pastor Sergey Nakul, of Grace Reformed Church in Kyiv, Ukraine, who continued ministering there, rather than flee from the Russian invasion of his country. When asked what he has learned in these days of war, he answered, “I would express this, only by one powerful and precious word: Immanuel! God is with us! Jesus is Immanuel! God is with me, here and now. And please, listen carefully to the following, that is just flowing from my heart… If he died for us, can he leave us right now? If he suffered for us, can he leave us in our suffering? If he prayed for us, with real human tears, can’t he cry now with us, with real human tears? And this is so precious… so supernaturally important for me and for millions of Christians here in Ukraine: Jesus is with me here and now, and forever. And this is a supernatural presence in my life, here and now.” (See link to full video)

What is real now for Pastor Nakul in Ukraine is just as real for you and me with our everyday challenges. The Bible directs us, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). God’s people are not to fix our hope on political systems, or celebrities, or cultural leaders; instead, our hope is anchored in the One who never changes, who is always with us. And so, we pray: “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long” (Psalm 25:4-5).

DR. GAYLAN MATHIESEN is Professor Emeritus of Mission & Evangelism at Lutheran Brethren Seminary.