Our nation is in serious trouble and we face problems of many different sorts—natural disasters, terrorism, war, crime, political corruption, and a host of other things, all of which put tremendous pressure on us. How we respond hurts or helps. And I’ve noticed that some people end up in disaster by trying to escape disaster. It happens because they are driven by dread, prompted by paranoia to do foolish things.
What we need to remember is that achieving preparedness is important, but so is avoiding paranoia. Sadly some people aren’t very good at either. Some don’t prepare for anything and some go to the extreme in the other direction. It’s obvious the some people are running scared. They have armed themselves to the teeth, stashed cash, stored food, hoarded supplies, etc., etc., but they still are not at peace. They are paranoid and it shows.
Surely we ought to be prepared, but there has to be a limit. We need to maintain a balance– even when it comes to something so important as being prepared. Recognizing the possibility of a disaster should not push us over the edge into a disaster of a different sort. The old saying, “Do something even if it is wrong” is just plain stupid. Panic just make a bad situation worse.
It seems to me that we need to chill-out, calm-down, and cheer-up. We need to take a deep breath, collect our thoughts, get our feet on the ground and be realistic. It is indeed a difficult and dangerous world, but driving a car is probably the most dangerous thing we face, and we usually make it home safe just fine. Too many time we get all worked up over nothing. Could we have a wreck? Sure we could–we could even get killed. But should we stop driving to eliminate the risk? Absolutely not! Christians are to live by faith, not in fear. They are expected to be at peace, rather than panic. They should know that God’s grace is sufficient to sustain them regardless of their circumstances.
A day after Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, the Ministry of Information came up with the idea to print three posters to boost the nation’s morale. The first, with white letters on a blue background, said,”YOUR COURAGE YOUR CHEERFULNESS YOUR RESOLUTION WILL BRING US VICTORY”. The second, with white letters on green, said, “FREEDOM IS IN PERIL DEFEND IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT”. The third, to be distributed only if the Germans invaded, had white letters on a red background. It said, “KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON”. That sounds like the kind of advice we need today. We can’t “carry on” effectively unless we “calm down”.
Dear friend, times are tough, and we need to prepare for what might happen, but we must avoid paranoia that leads to panic. Our response should be helpful rather than harmful. We would do well to “KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON”. As someone has said, “If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it”. Whatever “it” is, nothing is too big for God! Trust Him and obey Him. He will not fail you. Think about it!
