What does it look like to put your trust in God every day in a post-truth, divided world?
Learn to experience peace that only Christ can give through the four angel declarations to 'Fear Not.'
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When our world gets shaky and we’re faced with uncertainty, our reaction to those circumstances says a lot about the object of our hope. Where’s your faith?
Use the links below to skip ahead within the article and find the 4 forces that are shaping the world right now and impacting our trust in God.
- Humans are sinning.
- Satan is scheming.
- Ideologies are competing.
- Christ and His people are prevailing.
As believers, most of us intend on following Jesus in all circumstances. But when we’re confronted with divisions and crises, we aren’t necessarily equipped to stand strong against our own fear and uncertainty.
Is it possible to trust God and cling to hope in a divided, post-truth world?
You might already know that most of you who are reading this were born into the wealthiest and most free Church in world history.
Isn’t that amazing?
We can be thankful for that blessing, but we also need to have the understanding that our experience is the exception, not the norm.
After all, in 2021 America, our circumstances are very good compared to most people in the world and—in fact—most Christians throughout history.
Our experience as American Christians in 2021 is the exception. History is full of accounts of believers dying horrifically for their faith, and it still happens today. Are you prepared to stand strong in a divided world? Share on XIt was only a couple thousand years ago when Christians were set fire as human torches in Nero’s garden. More recently, Soviet soldiers marched believers through the snow to a freezing-cold body of water where they had to denounce Christ or freeze to death. These accounts feel like far-off stories, and yet similar accounts are taking place today in places like China and Iran, where believers are being arrested and persecuted everyday.
Even though we’re largely insulated from this kind of persecution and fear, the reality is that our world is shaky, and difficult times will certainly come to pass. We don’t like to think about it, but it’s part of human history.
Are you prepared spiritually so that no matter how the world shakes in your lifetime, or in the lifetime of your kids and grandkids, you’re prepared to stand strong and to be unshaken in a shaking world?
WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT OUR WORLD?
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. -Philippians 3:20
We aren’t citizens of this physical world! And no matter what you go through, it’s not your circumstances that dictate your stability and hope, but your citizenship in a Kingdom that will never be shaken:
Therefore, since we receive a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe. -Hebrews 12:28
As believers, it’s critical that we equip ourselves with an understanding of this citizenship and also the world we’re currently living in. There’s no need to be surprised by the events happening around us.
Understand the 4 forces that are shaping the world right now, influencing people’s trust in God.
1. Humans are SINNING
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:21
At any point in history, when we see power, prestige and money, there will be people who are willing to do anything to gain those things. It’s just part of human history.
If we understand that, we won’t be as quick to wonder, How could that happen? The fact is, we live in a world where people sin and their sin spills over into our lives. Knowing this doesn’t make it less messy or painful, but it does take away the element of surprise.
It’s difficult to trust God if we blame Him for the spillover, or have the expectation of a great life because of our “lucky charm” Christian faith.
Be encouraged. How To Pray To God For Help With Life Feels Impossible
2. Satan is SCHEMING
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
In each of us, there’s an invisible and eternal element called a soul.
When your body dies, your soul will live for eternity with God or apart from Him; if you believe in Him, you can be with God for eternity. He came to give you eternal life.
But in the unseen realm, there’s an adversary of your soul named Satan. He’s a fallen angel who turned away from God and when he left heaven, he took one third of the angels with him (demons). Jesus describes Satan as active in this world, in the unseen realm.
SATAN USES IDEAS TO COMPROMISE OUR TRUST IN GOD
Satan’s modus operandi is to get into your thoughts in a way that will destroy and cause death in your life. Actually, he comes into nations and groups of people and he operates in the realm of ideas.
Unfortunately, we can’t outsmart Satan. He’s smarter than us, and so are God’s angels. So what can we do?
We can follow His Word.
Jesus tells us over and over: He is the way, He is the truth, He is the life. He has given us the Word of God so that where we can’t outsmart Satan, God can lead us in paths that protect us from Satan. Knowing and following His Word is our protection against the Adversary’s ideologies causing death in our lives.
Knowing and following God’s Word is our protection against the Adversary’s attempts at instilling in us ideologies that cause death and destruction. Share on X
Satan works in the realm of ideas, and he knows exactly how to turn people against each other. His secret is that he knows whoever controls ideas controls power.
We need only to look at how a nation followed Adolf Hitler to understand the power of ideas. The German people embraced an ideology about race and an ideology about Jewish people, about who was good and who was evil, and what was right and wrong. From that came some of the most horrendous evil in all of human history.
Satan is in the business of planting ideas of death, and Jesus is in the business of planting seeds of life and hope and love. We need to know Jesus and know His Word.
Learn to live fearlessly in a divided world in a new book, Hope of Nations
3. Ideologies are COMPETING
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. -2 Corinthians 10:4-5
Pew Research Center explains there four ideologies that are competing for global domination right now.
- Hindu
- Islam
- Communism
- Christianity
Every one of these doctrines will state, “We’re right, and if you disagree, you’re wrong.” Some say it more kindly than others, but every persuasion shares this characteristic: our belief is the only right one.
The concept of “I’m right so you’re wrong” is certainly not unique to our nation nor our generation. It’s a tale as old as time.
LIVE IN PEACE
But as Christ-followers who trust God, we have the unique opportunity (and obligation, according to the Scriptures) to disagree gracefully. In two separate passages, the book of Matthew cites Jesus’ words:
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (5:44)
“I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (18:22)
And then in the book of Romans, Paul says:
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. (12:18)
Believers are instructed to be kind and forgiving, not because we don’t think it’s important to have faith in Christ, but because our faith calls us to be peaceable and patient and full of grace.
Understanding this natural competition among ideologies will prepare you to act gracefully when a differing viewpoint crosses your path.
4. Christ and His people are PREVAILING
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Matthew 16:18
When Jesus made this statement almost two thousand years ago, here’s what the population of followers looked like:
Number of believers: a few hundred
Acres of land owned: none
Amount of armies: none
After leaders and tyrants and entire nations declared they would stamp out Christianity, it’s now the largest movement in human history and one in three people in the world today believe it to be true. The rock has been built upon and will continue to grow in our lifetime.
How can we prepare ourselves to trust God every single day in a divided, post-truth world?
We can teach them –
- The Word of God
- To love their enemies
- To follow Christ no matter what happens around them.
Ready for change? How To Turn 5 Powerful Truths Into A Supernaturally Transformed Life
No movement in all of history has grown to the size of Christianity and there’s no force on earth or in hell that can stop it.
I hope you’ll be encouraged by the promise of the Scriptures, that God will continue to build His church, and that He has your citizenship secured in His Kingdom—an eternal kingdom that will not be shaken despite a shaking world.
Learn more about living fearlessly in a divided world when you watch our Daily Discipleship Course on YouTube entitled Hope of Nations, featuring teachings from author and pastor John Dickerson.
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