Take heart

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

*****

It is hard for me to watch the news these days.

Articles like this dash my hopes in the economy.
Reports like this taint my trust in world leaders.
Stories like this shake my faith in my fellow man.

And before long, heart sinking and mind whirling, I find myself teetering between choking anxiety and cynical complacency.

At times, I become weighed down with worry.
What will happen to us all? I wonder.
Can we really trust anyone anymore?
How will things ever be okay?

Round and round these thoughts tumble, leaving me with nothing but an unshakable heaviness and a desire to escape.

So sometimes I do.

I turn the channel to something easier, something safe, something to help me forget.

Why should I care? I scoff.

There will only be more hurt, more scandal, more pain.
What can I do about it, anyway?

And so I find myself stuck.

For fear is crippling.
And to choose a life of fear is to accept its choking chains of endless worry, doubt and indecision.

But complacency is defeat.
And I may turn my television as loud as it can go, but it will not drown out the global cries of injustice.

So I must choose Faith.

A faith that believes that just because it's hard doesn't mean it's not possible.

And just because it's painful doesn't mean it's not worth the fight.

We cannot shut ourselves out of this broken world.
Sometimes we have to question. Sometimes we have to protest.

Sometimes we have to refuse to accept what the world presents as truth.

But neither can we allow our wringing hands to be tied behind our backs.
For the world can be ugly, but it can also be beautiful.
And while there is much hate, it does not overshadow love.