And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: —Matthew 24:6a

Last night as my dad, my brother, and I drove home from prayer meeting, we started talking about ISIS and the Ebola outbreak. My Dad pointed out how the media likes to emphasize the frightening aspects of world events. It creates a lot of hype and gains attention because people get scared.

Peace seems to be a lost art in our culture. Between the frantic pace of life and pressures coming from every direction, we struggle with stress, depression, fear, and the overwhelming notion that there will never be enough hours in the day to get everything done! We constantly try to do things in our own strength. Like the famous story of Peter, we take our eyes off Jesus and look at the waves, and we begin to sink as soon as we do.

I share these things here because, when we love and care for the fatherless, the vulnerable, the hurting people in this world, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the waves. By the enormity of the situation. My heart breaks when I hear of the innocent children being slaughtered by ISIS. I don’t understand why God allows such things to happen.

Many people a lot smarter than me have tried to tackle that question. Why does God allow such horrible things to happen? ou probably know the answers that such evil exists because of mankind’s free will and the problem of sin. For some people, those answers are enough. Others continue to wrestle with the issue.  I’m not going to try to expound on that question. What I do what to encourage is that you don’t allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the troubles.

In 2001 my family watched two movies, Luther and Hotel Rwanda, in the same week. Watching two movies in one week is extremely rare in our house. I remember both movies because I wrote about them in my journal. Both movies were hard. Both depicted the massive slaughter of innocent people. After finishing Hotel Rwanda I wrote in my journal,

Yes, my God is big enough for holocausts and personal enough to tend to my personal hopes and fears. God is what makes Hotel Rwanda different from Luther. In one, triumph is dependent on the spirit of man, which is proven to be wicked. In the other, all rests on God. Man’s task is simple [to say], “I am yours. Save me.”

This is the truth I come back to over and over again when the tragedies of the world begin to feel overwhelming. When I hear of children trafficked, abused, and dying without families and my heart grieves for them. When I feel helpless.

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. — Matthew 10:29-31

You and I are very small pieces in the grand puzzle of the universe. And, yes, problems like orphan care are too big for us. But they are no too big for God. So next time you feel overwhelmed or insignificant–next time you feel like you can’t make a difference–remember that God is orchestrating things. When we surrender our fears and our lives to him and allow him to direct us, he can fit us into the right place on the puzzle. Orphan care is important. It’s good to be educated about it. But it’s not our focus. If we’re not careful, it can become a wave pulling our eyes away from Jesus. Don’t let that happen. Keep your eyes on Him. If You walk where He leads you, you’ll make a difference and you’ll have a lot more peace on the journey.

What troubles you? Do you think looking at Jesus instead of the storm would help you find more peace in the midst of difficult situations?