So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. –Colossians 1:10-12 (NIV)

When I awakened this morning, I had gone to sleep with many thoughts on my mind as to what the day might bring.  I recalled seeing a movie recently where chaos suddenly broke out.  The scene was filled with one image after the next of what we might imagine happens when all of the laws of nature collide with man’s loss of self-control.  When I paused the movie, it could have been a news report in the aftermath of a tornado.  This morning, the aftermath of the riots across the nation looked eerily similar.  My children looked to me and asked, “What would you do if you were in the middle of this?”  “We ARE in the middle of this,” I exclaimed.  We are in the middle of a pandemic, political and economic instability, cultural disruptions, racial division, civil unrest, lawlessness, and so much more!  With everything going on all around us, it feels a lot like a merry-go-round ride where just as it’s about to slow down so we might get off, someone comes along and spins it anew! 

I thought of Queen Esther, and Mordecai’s rebuke in Esther 4:14:  “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance…will arise from another place.”  Then I contemplated 2 Chronicles 7:14, where the chronicler urged an entire nation to return to God to save itself.  I also considered the letters to the churches in Revelations 2-3.  I searched many applicable scriptures throughout the bible to the various issues we face in these current times trying to reconcile things in my mind!  I also thought of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s writings, as well as Prophetess Rev. V. B. Smith’s, that favor godliness and the power of love over hate and of hope over fear.  We face many issues today, and it’s not easy knowing which one takes precedence or where to focus our energies.  It’s one crisis after the next!  What in the world is going on?!  This teachable moment revealed how complex this time is for us as individuals, as community members, and as a nation.  As I looked to God for the answer, I was immediately reminded of this one thought that rises up over every one of our worldly concerns today:  Jesus Christ is coming back! 

What does God want us to do in the meantime?  Like Prophetess Smith reminds us, “It’s going to get worse before it gets better!”  We cannot just wait it out.  There are three things we must do in the meantime:

1.)  Watch for Christ’s return.  (Luke 12:37)

2.)  Be ready for Christ’s return.  (2 Peter 3:11-14)

3.)  Work until Christ’s return.  (Luke 12:43)

The truth is that God wants us to live the same way regardless of whether times are easy or hard.  God wants us to live holy and godly lives.  While this may sound too simplistic, and perhaps not decisive enough for those focused on any single one of the issues of this day, it is imperative that we keep a kingdom focus.  We must watch, be ready, and work until Christ returns!

In this chaotic moment, just like it is with a merry-go-round, we must find something secure and stabilizing so we don’t fly off the ride!  We must reach out to Jesus Christ— the one who stabilizes everything—and wait for His return.  But in the meantime…

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. –Hebrews 9:27-28 (NIV)