Can God Help Us Through These Troubled Times?
"God is in control" is more than an idea. It (can be) a way of life.
I know a lot of my liberal friends are scared and anxious right now about politics. I've heard from some who are depressed, and many more who are worried for the future of our great republic.
Truthfully, I myself have felt this fear over the past week. I'm an institutionalist, and seeing Trump and Elon talk about how "He who saves his Country does not violate any Law" and attack the judges who block Trump's actions has been disheartening to see the least. I can empathize with my friends on the left who are scared that the Trump administration will do irreparable damage to our nation.
But on reflection, I realized something: right now, in this moment, I'm not actually that worried.
Why not? Because I know that God is in control.
I have hesitated to talk about this, for two reasons.
First, it can too often take the form of a mere idea, an intellectual concept to which we cling that doesn't actually do anything to alleviate our fear. "God is in control," we can tell ourselves; but the mere words themselves are not sufficient to combat the fear and anxiety that grip our minds and make our bodies tense up.
Second: because I have no wish to pretend that I am perfect or that I never feel fear, and "God is in control," can send that message. The truth is that, like any reality that strikes at the heart of our fear and guilt and shame, I find that this message resonates some days more than others. In some moments, I feel with bone-deep certainty that I have nothing to worry about, because I am sheltered completely in the loving embrace of my creator. In other moments, I forget that fact and fear and anxiety claw at my mind.
God can drive out fear. But fear can also drive out our connection to God.
But for all that I am an imperfect practitioner of trusting God, I do think that cultivating this trust can be powerful for our mental health. When I am deep in communion with the divine, I find that my worries and my fears melt away; and I can simply rest in safety and comfort and security. That seems like a good place to try to find more often.
So how can we get to that place of safety and comfort and security in the embrace of God? How can we turn "God is in control" from an intellectual idea into a felt experience?
I think the key is that God is *not* an idea. Life with God is a relationship. And like any relationship, it is spending time together that will truly change us.
Here are two questions that I've found can help me to feel the loving presence of God and to let go of my fear.
1) God, what would my life look like if I wasn't afraid of anything? (this question comes from theologians Jamie and Donna Winship)
2) God, I'm feeling a lot of fear around XYZ right now. What do You want me to know about this fear / what do You want me to do about this fear?
When I sit in stillness and solitude and ask these questions, the answer that I get varies. Some times, I'll hear a word from God that will help me to move past my fear. Other times, I'll simply feel the loving presence of my creator enter me and fill me. In these moments—or sometimes hours—of communion, I feel my fear abate. I feel myself becoming one with something that is far greater than me. God is not scared; and when He is filling every pore of me, neither am I scared. I may also see the problems of the world or of my life put in perspective; not minimized, but seen through a new lens. No matter how strong the forces of division and evil are, God is stronger; and in these times of communion I can feel a bone-deep certainty that I have nothing to worry about.
If you are scared or anxious or depressed about the state of our country, sit down (or walk) for 20 minutes in silence and solitude, and ask God one or more of the above questions. And notice what happens next.
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