How Much Better to First Seek God's Perspective?
Here we are again—America at war. When the news came from President Trump 10 days ago, the avalanche of opinions soon followed. It’s so tempting to jump down the rabbit’s hole of social media and news outlets.
When we seek man’s perspective, we’re looking for clarity, peace, and comfort, but all too often the cacophony of voices and images delivers the opposite: confusion, fear, and outrage. How much better to first seek God’s perspective?
We trust the Lord to work out His plan for us and the whole history of man. He knew we would sin, so He planned for a Savior. As we wait on Him to come again, God gives us strength to endure the bad times while conforming us to His image and advancing His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. In the end, we are victorious! So for now, we rest in God’s sovereignty and ask what He wants to accomplish through this trial.
When it comes to the war in Iran, Christians and conservatives are sharing opinions across the political spectrum about what this means for our country and our troops. Differences in opinion are expected, but foreign policy issues add decades, even centuries of complexity in today’s political climate.
How do we respond?
Resist information overload
First, let's resist the temptation to immerse ourselves in news and commentary, turning instead to prayer, worship, and the reading of God’s word. Jesus taught us that more information is NOT what’s needed most.
Remember the story He told of the rich man in eternal torment while the poor beggar Lazarus was enjoying comfort at Abraham’s side? In Luke 16 the rich man asked Abraham to send a warning to his brothers about eternal judgment, and Abraham replied: “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.” In Matthew 24, Jesus prophesied about the day heaven and earth will pass away. He told us only the Father knows the time and hour. Not even Jesus has that information!
Clearly, more information is not the answer to all of our questions and concerns! This is good news! We can seek out trusted news sources and Biblical perspectives without becoming slaves to our phones and TVs.
Gather for prayer
Second, we need to seek out the prayers and insights of those in our Christian family. While Christian commentators and influencers can be helpful at times, I want to emphasize the importance of gathering for prayer in troubled times with Christian brothers and sisters in our families, churches, and communities. These are the believers with whom we share meals, study the Bible, confess our sins, pray with, celebrate with, and serve in times of need. These are the Christians we see up close, so we know something, personally, about the character of their lives and faith.
The Book of Acts gives us so many examples of the churches gathering for prayer. But they didn’t just pray as a community, they also experienced immediate manifestations of God’s presence, guidance, and deliverance as a community.
When the Jerusalem church prayed for boldness in the face of threats and persecution, the Holy Spirit shook their meeting place and filled them with courage (Acts 4). When a prophet from Jerusalem named Agabus stood up and predicted a famine throughout the Roman empire, the church in Antioch responded by sending financial contributions to Judea (Acts 11). When the church gathered in earnest prayer for Peter’s release from jail, the apostle showed up at the meeting after an angel rescued him (Acts 12).
In the face of events totally out of our control like war in Iran, combative ICE protests, or even something like increasing property taxes, we feel so helpless. But consider how God responded to the church in Acts. Those believers had far less information and political power than we do, and look how God guided them and revealed Himself!
Yes, of course, we should pray expectantly on our own, too. Like Peter, Cornelius, Paul, and others. We know God is faithful to lead His children individually. But Acts shows us so many examples of God leading the church through corporate prayer. I can’t help but wonder what He might do if we gathered more often and listened to Him—together.
Might the Lord respond to us, too?
