All the Trouble in the World

There’s a lot of sadness in the world.  I’m sure you’ve noticed that.  Every week we see at least one obituary in the local paper, maybe two or three or even more.  That means, every week, there are families around us are grieving because they have lost someone they love.  And of course, because grief is not something you get over in a week, the number of families around us who are grieving keeps getting bigger every week.  If you think about how many families there are right in our own area who’ve lost someone they love, the total seems overwhelming.

And then there’s the number of hospitalizations.  For months now, we have constantly had a few people in the Gettysburg hospital.  Sometimes it’s been as many as six or seven or even eight.  For those of you reading this in large towns, it may seem laughable to call that a lot, but for here, it’s a tremendously large number.  And of course, that does not count the people from here who are in the hospital in Pierre or Aberdeen or Sioux Falls or Rapid City.  It also does not count the number of people who are at home, but are dealing with illnesses or injuries on an everyday basis.  If you think about how many families there are right in our own are who are dealing with serious illnesses or injuries to a loved one, the total seems overwhelming.

And there are all kinds of other problems.  People have financial problems.  They have problems in their family relationships.  They have problems at work.  They feel alone.  They have all kinds of other problems, too.  And that just deals with the everyday problems of people in our area.  We haven’t even talked about people who are the victims of storms, the victims of violent crime, or all sorts of other things.  We also haven’t talked about dangerous situations in our country or in the world.  When you add it all up, the sadness there is in the world seems overwhelming.

I haven’t told you all this to depress you.  But the truth is, though, that we all think about these things sometimes, and we all get depressed when we do.  And what makes the depression worse is that it seems like there’s nothing we can do about any of it.  Again, it seems overwhelming.

But there is good news, and here it is:  we have a God who is overwhelming.  You and I cannot even imagine how overwhelming God is.  God is overwhelmingly great.  God is overwhelmingly good.  God is overwhelmingly powerful.   God is overwhelming in all kinds of other ways, too.

Because God is so overwhelming, we don’t have to be depressed when we think of all the trouble in the world.  You and I may not be able to do anything about these things, but God can.  So what we need to do, again, is go to God and ask God to help us open our hearts and open our souls to God’s Holy Spirit.  Tell God the problems.  Be open to God using you to solve the problems, but don’t try to force a solution.  Let the solution happen in God’s way and in God’s time.  Be alert to see the chances God gives you, but don’t think that you have to solve things.  Leave it to God, trusting that God has the power and the wisdom and the strength to solve anything.

When your problems seem overwhelming, remember that we have an overwhelming God.  And remember that, no matter how things may seem, the Bible promises us that God is going to win in the end.  And remember that, as long as we have faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior, the Bible promises that we are going to win in the end, too.