I know I post a lot of negative stuff, but it’s all true. Bad things are happening in our world. The world is still suffering from the effects of the Covid shutdown and stimulus money that caused inflation. Layoffs and industry changes are hurting many people. We can’t just pretend that this reality doesn’t exist, even though we have very little control over any of it. That doesn’t mean, however, that we should become discouraged, because there is another side to this story.

Despite the unpleasantness of the recession, those of us who are children of God know that God is sovereign. Even if we can’t explain it theologically, we know that God is not sitting back wringing his hands over the global economy. The truth is that the Bible and history tell us that economies and governments and wars come and go in this world. Ups and downs in peace and prosperity are a normal part of the world system. God does not control us like players in a video game. He lets us make choices and then deal with the consequences. We are all subject to the whims of global elites, geopolitics, diseases, and the weather.

But, the good news is that those of us who are God’s children, by faith in Jesus, enjoy special benefits. When we are regenerated, we are adopted into God’s family and we receive an inheritance. This gift includes eternal life, 24/7 access to God through the Holy Spirit and prayer, and the assurance that “all things work together for good for them who are the called according to His purposes.” Romans 8:28.

This means that no matter what bad things are happening in the world, we can have peace in knowing that God is with us, He loves us, and He has things under control. Because we pray for His will to be done, we can rest in knowing that whatever happens, we can trust that He has a purpose for it , even if it doesn’t look like it at the time. This requires understanding that God is working on many different people at the same time.

Sometimes you may suffer from other people’s sin, or from generational sin, or from original sin which caused disease and death and separation from God. So where does the peace come from in that time of suffering? It comes from realizing that this world is not our true home. We have a job to do while we are here, but we are not to seek our ultimate purpose and meaning from anything this world has to offer. Knowing this and embracing a ‘kingdom’ way of thinking about life will give you true freedom.

Freedom is a good thing, no doubt, I love it! But basing our happiness on freedom is a dangerous thing. We can make ‘being free’ an idol. The Christian way of thinking about freedom is that we are 1)free from the penalty of sin and 2)free to Follow Jesus, and 3) free to love others without making ourselves judges.

Even people in prison or those living in Communist or Muslim countries can experience this freedom in Christ! Freedom is a spiritual condition that can exist in any circumstance when we trust God with our actual lives the way the early Christians did. They were beaten, persecuted, imprisoned, and martyred for their beliefs, but they were still free from the spiritual prison of this world system.

So while we wait for our Lord and savior to come back, we can have peace and ultimate freedom by surrendering our lives to him on earth and following Him daily. We can be free from fear, free from slavery to sin, free from the love of money, free from the idol of self, free from addictions, and free to LOVE others and love God. It’s the best freedom ever!