How Bad Will It Get?

This is the preoccupying question in America today, “How bad will it get?”

It’s a 24/7 thing now, and it’s game on in the political arena. But while our politicians scramble to prove it’s not their fault, Wall Street executives hunker down, and news cycle experts and talk radio hosts bark their analyses and theories, most of us just want to know, “How bad will it get?”

The only dependable authority for the Christian—the Word of God—is pretty clear in its answer to the question, “How bad will it get?”

Worse.

Even if the markets rebound, credit flows again, someone invents an alternative to fossil fuels, and we all pitch in to save the planet, it’s going to get worse.

Before you think I’m getting all doomsday on you, I also want you to know that there’s a place to go and Someone to talk to about all of this. This is someone smarter than Rush Limbaugh and more powerful than Barack Obama.

There’s a phrase in the New Testament inviting every Christian to turn to Someone else–Abba Father (Romans 8:15). This is an endearing and intimate title for God the Father that could be translated, “Father, my own dear Father.” It is the title a child uses to relate to a father when the child knows that he or she is dear to Him, the one He delights in.

As the world crumbles around us, you may wonder if this is the time when it all spins out of control and if the worst-case scenario guys are right. That question, “How bad will it get?” may be keeping you up at night. Here’s what I do when my anxious thoughts multiply within me—I crawl up on my Father’s lap and talk to Him about my fears, feelings, and hurts. It is the upside of crises for the child of God–deepening intimacy with Abba Father.

I bet if we spent as much time on His lap as we spend in front of our computers, radios and televisions checking the latest bad news, we’d feel a lot better about the future. We’d probably say, “Well, my Abba always told me it would get worse, but He also promised to take care of me. You see, I’m very special to Him.”

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” –Paul, Romans 8:15