Let’s face it; the world seems to be getting worse by the day. Aside from the fact that prophetically it is supposed to, many people, both Christian and not, can feel the heaviness of the times. Those doldrums that come at you from seemingly all sides. The weariness bogs down those who even make it a point to stay positive. Choosing joy can be challenging, and even those who joke around or seem happy can hide the pain that they are feeling. While I can’t help solve all the issues, I feel the urge to share something we use in my family. I hope that it may benefit those struggling with issues both large and small right now.
It is a question that you ask yourself when things are going rough. You have to train yourself to ask every time a problem occurs. When it happens, before any emotional response, the introspection starts, and you ponder on a simple question:
Will the issue that I am going through right now matter in the long run?
For me, this question drives many problems that I face. Broken appliances, dishes in the sink, a critical word from a loved one. Countless other issues occur that are unnamed, but at the end of the day, is it an issue that I will remember years down the road or something that will fall forgotten in memory? For that matter, what is the long run? For many Christians, that would be eternity! Is a flat tire something to worry about in the scope of eternity? It certainly takes the sting out of it when it happens if you think about eternity in heaven with God, not having to worry about flat tires anymore.
I know during these uncertain times that it is easy to be anxious. Quite frankly, the reason is that the enemy wants you to be. Worry, strife, all those things that pump into you from your Tell-a-vision (pun intended) are not of God because He wouldn’t want you to worry about it in the first place. Instead, we are called to praise Him through the storm. Worship him during the trials. Be fervently fired up for God in the furnace. As the Bible says, ‘Fear not!’.
Depending on your translation, you have almost 150 actual occurrences of the Hebrew or Greek term that states ‘Fear not!’. More if you count close synonyms, but the message is quite clear. We are called to stop fearing! Stop worrying! Is a disease more powerful than our God? Is the government? Is the world? Nothing is more powerful than the infinite holy power of our LORD and savior. He has taken away the sins of the world, including yours and mine, and destroyed the works of the enemy so that we may have life to the full (1 John 3:8 and John 10:10).
So, to paraphrase a song from my youth, “Don’t worry, be happy!”
For more uplifting messages of a fantasy novel nature, you can check out my two published books in the Darkness Overcome series. You can follow the links below to my webpage to find out more about the characters and the series, as well as another link below to the books themselves!
Hope, Hearts, & Heroes 
Your point is excellent. We need to focus on Jesus and the joy he gives us; His peace, which is not the peace of this world.
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