Patiently listening, my heart ached as I heard the familiar refrain. A family member expressing the overwhelming feeling of being “lost”. Not only facing a loved one’s steady decline, but reeling from world events and feelings of despair. I felt the depth of her pain as she wondered aloud if she had faith for living in a troubled world.
As hospice and palliative medicine clinical support personnel, I receive many calls from the community looking for help or support for a loved one declining from a long term illness.
Though my caller struggled with overwhelm as to how best to help their loved one, they desperately needed something common to us all: Hope.
Our troubled world forces us to process the hard emotions resulting from the tragedies of multiple mass shootings in our schools, grocery stores, and hospitals; COVID cases rising again, the ongoing war in Ukraine, baby formula shortage crisis, and the rising inflation in our country.
Truly, our faith for living in a troubled world faces testing almost every day. We may even wonder with my caller if our faith can overcome the fear of the turmoil yet ahead.
a faith for living in troubled times
Choosing abstinence from media outlets and nightly news fails in protecting us from conversation all around on the troublous times in which we live. Each day intensifies feelings of confusion as we wade through our days tinged with stressful encounters, strained relationships, job and financial stresses; all pointing to a world spinning out of control.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”
Hebrews 10:23
Perhaps more than ever Christians and non-Christians alike are seeking Hope in the midst of uncertainty.
In a world where Christians “deconstruct” their faith, or forsake their faith altogether, people hunger for authentic faith. But what does a faith for living in a troubled world look like?
Join me at Living By Design for my guest post, “Authentic Faith For Troubled Times”, where I share not only what authentic faith looks like, but how to live out authentic faith in a world groaning for Hope in the midst of despair.
I found myself wanting to quote so many wonderful insights, Donna, but I will just do this one, “Authentic faith not only feels sorrow for those less fortunate, but it also enlarges its comfort zone to include the hurting, lost and lonely. Faith receives authentication through trial. Through adversity, we deepen intimacy with Christ in ways not open to us during times of ease. One way we live authentic faith in troubled times is by holding firm to our hope.” May the Lord help us to live an empathetic and authentic life of faith with others and may their hope and faith in Him be strengthened.
Thank you, Lisa, for your kind words. I praise God for His insights in writing that post, and the reminders of how our faith affects those around us for good and bad. May that Hope within us flow forth in an authentic faith which sustains not only us, but those we come into contact with!
Hope is something we all desperately need. I shutter to think how differently I would see the issues in the world today if I didn’t have hope that God is still in control and working all things according to His plan.
I’m with you, Donna, with the way things are in the world, where would we be without the true Hope we have in Christ?
Folks are all het up in arms
with the wide world going nuts
and triggering the loud alarms,
no room for ifs or ands or buts.
I listen to them with a smile,
watch their headless-chicken run,
check the mirror – I’m in style!
and then go out and have some fun,
for I died just yesterday,
and CPR, it brought me back.
Death may have the final say,
but there is nothing that I lack
if I can laugh at my own dying
while navel-gazing world is crying.
Did stop breathing, left my body…weird!… and was saved by Belle The Service Wolf jumping up and down on my chest. She really is mostly pure wolf, and she broke a couple of ribs.
Andrew, loved the way you expressed this in poetry. As a healtcare worker I know how brutal CPR really is, it’s not a few tender compressions on the chest and almost always breaks ribs! But I rejoice that God breathed life back into your lungs and you are here with us today! I love your poetry as I see it on many comments around the blog world, praising God He gifted us with your life for yet a while longer, brother!
Your article is so good, Donna. So many wonderful quotes. I shared on Twitter!
Thank you Amy, for your kind enocouragement! I especially appreciate the shares on social media!
Donna, beautiful article on how to sustain our faith in our troubled world. Thank you!
Thank you Deborah for reading! Rejoicing you found a blessing here!