And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you…I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.  John 14:16,18

Listen to just five minutes of the news and you’ll hear about wars, earthquakes, famines, diseases, and persecution. It’s easy to ask, “Where is God?”

Finding God in the midst of pain is an age-old struggle. But global crises were not unforeseen by Jesus. He described our reality before His return and restoration of all things saying, “And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world (Matthew 24:6-7).

He also explained the intense persecution His followers would face, saying, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you” (John 15:18-20).

God isn’t in crisis, scrambling for a plan when crisis or persecution happens. Global chaos doesn’t need to bring us to a crisis of faith. We don’t have to worry about why these things are happening or despair that God has deserted us in them. He promised this in Scripture:  “I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you,” and He did this by giving His Holy Spirit to comfort, strengthen, and teach us (John 14:18). Through God’s Spirit, we can lead lives of extravagant love and tenacious faith–even in this broken world that’s awaiting the complete restoration that Jesus promised.

He is near and you can look forward in hope!