War in Europe - Trust God in the uncertanty

After a couple of years of uncertain times due to COVID-19, we now find our lives hit with new uncertainty due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. We are again undergoing an historic event that will alter the world we know going forward both in the immediate future and potentially for generations to come.

The questions continue to mount: Is this the start of World War 3? Will the United States be drug into war yet again on another continent? Will this escalate into a nuclear conflict? What should our involvement be? Will energy prices cause our standard of living to plummet? How many shortages will we see on our retail shelves? How many lives will be lost before it’s all over? Will Ukraine still be a sovereign nation?

For me, this particular conflict is more personal than other recent and ongoing conflicts throughout the world, because I have been to Ukraine twice, and made friends over there. As a church, Mission Bible Fellowship supports an orphanage and pastor in Ukraine. And as with all current events, I think it is important to consider what is a proper Biblical response to the event, both on a national scale and a personal scale.

Honestly, I have struggled with what is a Biblical response to this on a national scale. I seem to waffle back and forth between thinking its not really our job to police the entire world and thinking it is our job to look out for those in need, particularly widows and orphans, the number of which is growing daily in both Ukraine and Russia.

On a personal scale, I have much more clarity about a Biblical response. Life is always uncertain. We do not know the future, and no matter what anyone tells you is going to happen, we do not know if it will happen until it does. This is true now and at all times. Life is uncertain, and only God knows what will happen tomorrow. We can guess, we can predict, we can hope, we can fear, we can and should plan, but we cannot know.

We place our trust in many uncertain things. How much of our trust do we place in our money? Our job? Our health? Our investments? Our government? Our economy? Our freedom? Our ability to control our lives? None of these are certain.

Only God is certain and worthy of our ultimate trust. No matter how difficult times get here in the USA or in Ukraine, God is still the answer. He has provided an eternal hope for us through Jesus Christ dying on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, so that we can spend eternity in heaven with Him, if we confess our sins and believe in Him. Everything in life, everything on this earth, is temporary, but God’s love transcends all. Trust in Him, not in the uncertainty of life around us, and pray for peace in Ukraine.