Dr. David Jeremiah - Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World: Certain Hope In Uncertain Times

2009 David Jeremiah

Originally published as Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World: What on Earth Should We Do Now?

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ISBN 978-0-7852-5093-7 (SC)

ISBN 978-0-8499-4701-8 (TP)

ISBN 978-0-8499-4677-6 (IE)

Epub Edition January 2021 9780785250944

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Jeremiah, David.

Living with confidence in a chaotic world: what on earth should we do now? / David Jeremiah.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-8499-1962-6 (hardcover)

1. Christian life. 2. HopeReligious aspectsChristianity. 3. Eschatology. I. Title.

BV4501.3.J467 2009

248.4dc22

2009028477

Printed in the United States of America

21 22 23 24 25 LSC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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I n June 2020smack in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemicthe tiny nation of Fiji in the South Pacific made a tempting proposition to a very small number of people around the globe.

Frank Bainimarama, Fijis prime minister, announced he was looking for a few VIPs to shelter in paradise during the outbreak and help restore his nations economy.

Say youre a billionaire looking to fly your own jet, rent your own island, and invest millions of dollars in Fiji in the process, wrote Bainimarama. If youve taken all the necessary health precautions and borne all associated costs, you may have a new home to escape the pandemic in paradise.

What a proposal! Unfortunately, there are only about two thousand billionaires on the planet, which is one reason why you and I have been forced to endure the various catastrophes of recent years rather than escape them.

And we have encountered many disrupting events, even beyond the global pandemic that stopped so much of our regular lives in their tracks so quickly. Weve seen economic collapse and financial despair. Weve seen fires ravaging the western United States, earthquakes shaking the foundations of cities around the world, and hurricanes and floods destroying homes and taking lives. Weve seen violence in the streets and cries of injustice across communities. And as I write this, the United States is a month away from an election that has already caused more division and strife than any in recent memory.

Had enough? Me too.

There have been tumultuous times in the past as well. Remember World War I, Pearl Harbor, D-Day, the atomic bomb, the revolutions of the 1960s, and the fall of the Berlin Wall? Remember 9/11, the more recent wars in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and the war on terror? Remember the economic downfall in 2008? There is no doubt we have encountered political unrest and worldwide disease and economic failure in the past, but I would suggest that theres never been a time in our collective memory like this current momentthe world is in turmoil.

But dont be discouraged when difficult days seemingly surround us. Just before Jesus Christ returns to earth, keeping the promise He made to His disciples, the Bible says a troubling time will arrive. And, my friends, its quite possible that we have entered the early stages of those events.

In Pauls first letter to the Thessalonians, we are told: But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, Peace and safety! then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape (1 Thessalonians 5:13).

As I think about that passage, I find myself observing how that metaphor about labor pains perfectly fits the headlines Ive been reading. An expectant mother endures quite a trial as she prepares for the birth of her child. She has morning sickness, she goes through all kinds of other drastic bodily changes, and then the labor pains arrive. As that child prepares to enter the world, the mothers discomfort is amplifiedits a message that God doesnt want her to miss. Rejoice! Your child is on the way!

Similarly, our world is in pain even now. We will feel it as the nations quake. Yet we can cry out, Rejoice! Your redemption is near! This pain, this confusion, this anxiety is only for a little while longer.

Lets return to that frightening term catastrophe. Its an odd four-syllable word, isnt it? In fact, it represents the union of two Greek words: cata, meaning over, and strophe, meaning to turn. The full picture is one of overthrow, of everything turning over in sudden and violent change.

You and I have experienced that kind of change, that kind of violencethe world turning over in chaotic spasms. And each time we experience it anew, we are confronted with that same critical question: Is there any way to live with confidence in a chaotic world?

Its a question we need to answer. You see, we no longer have the luxury of sitting back in our recliners, stroking our chins, and examining this spectacle from some distance. Because of our increasingly connected world, we are now all players in global events. When one nation struggles, we all struggle. When yet another catastrophe strikes, were all affected.