“When we focus on the size of our problems, we forget the size of our God.”

A thought by Larry Osborne (2015-04-01) from his book, Thriving in Babylon: Why Hope, Humility, and Wisdom Matter in a Godless Culture (Kindle Locations 1101-1103). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

So many of do this.  I have trouble reading Facebook because of all the despair.  I mean to many people the world is coming to an end because of what is happening all around us.  Granted it has been a tough couple of weeks but remember what the early Christians went through? 

Now understand this.  John writes, “Panic and fear sell. They’re riveting and keep listeners and readers coming back for more. They don’t want to miss anything. Frankly, the media and most ministry fund-raisers need a crisis to motivate people to watch, listen, and give. If they don’t have one, they’ll create one. And if all they have is a small one, they’ll make it into a big one.”  And so many people feed that into their mind all day long and wonder why they are always fearful and always discouraged.

He then says, “Now I want to make it clear that I am not saying our society, culture, and body politic are not facing some incredibly significant issues. They are. We have plenty of things to be deeply concerned about. Ignorance isn’t bliss. It’s folly. And discounting problems doesn’t make them go away. But the fact is, those of us who regularly tune in to our favorite news analysis or talk radio host in order to ‘stay informed’ tend to get especially riled up and depressed. Input determines output. When we’re bombarded with a never-ending stream of crises du jour, each one presented as being massively important and bearing the potential to destroy everything we hold dear, it’s no wonder we lose hope.”

But please remember this.  Larry says, “Our God is still at work even when it looks as if all is about to be lost. He’s never surprised. He’s never overmatched… The increasing moral and cultural decay of our society is not something God was unprepared for. It’s not beyond his power to redeem. He has a plan. It’s not going to be thwarted.”

He then he gives some very good advice, “Instead of letting our friends, the media, and the latest crisis du jour determine our outlook, we’ll need to let Scripture, our personal experiences of God’s power, and his many promises determine our outlook. For some of us that will mean hitting the mute button in order to silence the panicked voices that have been feeding our fear and drowning out our hope. Because, ultimately, it’s not our circumstances that determine our outlook; it’s the way we interpret our circumstances that determines our outlook.”

Again, “When we focus on the size of our problems, we forget the size of our God.”  And he is bigger than all these problems.  Put your hope and your trust in him.  

OK?