Don't Panic

If the foundations are destroyed,

What can the righteous do?

The Lord is in His holy temple,

The Lord's throne is in heaven. —Psalm 11:3,4

“Here, have a look at this,” said Ford. He sat down on one of the mattresses and rummaged about in his satchel. Arthur prodded the mattress nervously and then sat on it himself: in fact he had very little to be nervous about, because all mattresses grown in the swamps of Sqornshellous Zeta are very thoroughly killed and dried before being put to service. Very few have ever come to life again. Ford handed the book to Arthur. “What is it?” asked Arthur. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s a sort of electronic book. It tells you everything you need to know about anything. That’s its job.” Arthur turned it over nervously in his hands. “I like the cover,” he said. “‘ Don’t Panic.’ It’s the first helpful or intelligible thing anybody’s said to me all day.” The Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe

Old timers have always thought that the world is going to hell in a hand basket, but, by golly, we may have actually arrived. Here we are, beset by a whole new set of corrupting influences, bad manners and indecent behavior, political craziness and a lack of responsible, rational, moral leadership. The foundations are crumbling! What's a body to do? 

Well, put simply (but not too simply), the answer is God. 

Look, just read His book: It tells us everything we need to know about anything. That's it's job. And what, I ask you, is the answer to our present angst? "The Lord is in His holy temple." God is seated firmly on the throne. All things are under His absolute control, even this nutty election cycle.

The prophet Habakuk knew Psalm 11 and the principle it enshrines and quoted it to himself as he watched the armies of Babylon march on Jerusalem and contemplated the the imminent death of his nation. His response? “'God is in His holy temple.’ Quiet, please" (Habakuk 2:19). [Habakuk's word for "quiet" is a sibilant, hus, the direct equivalent of the word we use to calm an anxious child: "shhhh."]

God knows what He's doing."Don't panic" is writ large on the cover and every page of his book. Trust Him. Hope in Him. Rest in Him. Shhhh. You're safe between the paws of the true Aslan (C.S. Lewis).

God is working out his purpose 

'spite of all that happens here. 

Lawless nations in commotion, 

restless like a storm-tossed ocean. 

He controls their rage and fury 

so his children need not fear. 

Let our hearts then turn to heaven 

where he bides his time in peace 

Giving him our heart's devotion 

till the present troubles cease.

David Roper

11/7/16