When the world falls into spiritual darkness and all you see around you is chaos and misery, what then?
Kin Jong-un and Vladimir Putin meeting in China last year – North Korea has been supplying Russia with troops for their war with Ukraine since as early as 2024. 1
Isaiah, in chapter 24, spoke of how “The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken.” Was he speaking only to the people of his day about the earth being broken? Was he judging the nations of his time about the world being violently shaken? Or was he also speaking to the nations of the world today? Are our present lives, and the lives of those around us, in a state of rebellion against Almighty God?
Ruins all around
Most people enjoy eating a fine smorgasbord. As a matter of fact, the Chinese Mandarin restaurant is one of my favorite places to dine. To walk by the mouth-watering dishes displayed, and to anticipate dining, is delightful. To deposit a little scoop of this and a tad of that on a warm, hand-held plate, creates thankful moments.
There are other smorgasbords displayed to us, however, which do not generate pleasure. The world is actually a smorgasbord right now – a literal smorgasbord of brokenness – of ruin. No matter where we turn in the newspapers, no matter what we turn to on our laptops, there are ruins we can choose to read about, or literally see misery portrayed on our screen. Grim headlines underline this actuality. Our plate of daily current events is filled with somber, unappetizing incidents.
Is this where Canada’s Bill C-9 will take us? Finnish Member of Parliament, and former leader of the Finnish Christian Democrats, Päivi Räsänen was found guilty of hate speech earlier this year by her country’s Supreme Court for a booklet she and a Lutheran bishop co-authored in 2004 opposing same-sex “marriage.” 2
- For example, it has of late been disclosed that the North Korean president, Kim Jong Un, is supporting a policy that requires soldiers to commit suicide on the battlefield to avoid capture, while fighting Russia’s war against Ukraine.
- For example, it has been verified that twenty-nine Christians were massacred in the Islamic state of Nigeria, during a soccer match in the spring of this year, 2026. The attack took place on a Sunday, included the torching of a church, and most of the victims were youths and women.
- For example, earlier this year of 2026, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Canada, investigated a Dr. MacLean of London, Ontario. Dr. MacLean diagnosed a man with inflammatory bowel disease while sitting with him in a car outside a Tim Horton’s. Afterwards, he personally drove this man, who was prone to depression, to a MAiD location where his life was ended. Dr. MacClean was only verbally cautioned by CPSO.
- For example, Canadian Bill C-9, also known as the Combatting Hate Act, passed the House of Commons, Senate and received Royal Assent. It removed the religious defence to hate speech in the Criminal Code.
- For example, the horrible tragedy of the earthquakes which have hit Venezuela. Venezuelan morgues are filling up rapidly. At the end of June 2026, the actual death toll was reported to be more than 2,300. However, the projected number of people missing and presumed dead, is running into many thousands more. Dead children arrive at morgues, so badly decomposed that they are unrecognizable.
These smorgasbord current events detail a world that is a far cry from the “It was good” phrase, in Genesis 1. They reflect a world fallen into sin.
Are we part of God’s restoration?
Should we, therefore, mourn and lament over these present evil times? It is a fact, that like Jeremiah lamented, it is not a bad thing for us also to weep over worldwide sin.
However, it is also a good thing to sit down and examine ourselves, to study our own hearts carefully, to make sure that our motives, our interactions with others and our priorities, are not in any way contributing to the evil around us.
- For example, do we encourage our next-door neighbors to live without fear? Does our joy in the prospect of life eternal, reflect in loving our neighbors, in bringing them both soup and the Gospel?
- For example, do we speak openly about these disasters with people we meet? Do we know our Bible well enough to testify with a smile that “God is our refuge and our strength” and that “therefore we will not fear” (Ps. 46)?
When those nearby have a cast-down soul, can we boldly, like the Reformers before us, boost the spirits of those around us with personal anecdotes of answered prayer and songs of cheer? It is said of Luther, who loved the 46th Psalm dearly, that when his companions were cast down because of the seeming strength of the opposition, he would say: “Come, let us sing the Forty-Sixth Psalm, friends.” - For example, do we testify to those dying in pain on a hospital bed, Jesus’ words in John 14 that their hearts ought not to be troubled? And can we explain why their hearts ought not to be troubled? Can we percolate the steadfast faith of Job to friends? Can we say with certainty to others, “I know that my Redeemer lives”?
The evangelist, John Wesley, died on March 2,1791, at the age of 87. As he lay dying, with a group of friends gathered around his bed, Wesley’s last words were from Psalm 46, “The best of all is, God is with us.” He repeated this as he lifted his arms: “The best of all is, God is with us.”
My niece’s daughter, Amy, died more than a month ago. She was thirty-five years old and had special-needs – but a person who knew and loved the Lord Jesus. A small story was told of her during the funeral. Amy had a friend whose name was Melissa. Melissa could not speak. During a Special Olympics day for those with special-needs, there was a race – a walking race from one point to another. Amy’s friend was participating in that race. But as she began to walk with all the other contestants, she suddenly froze. She seemed to be afraid and not able to move. Amy saw that her friend was afraid and walked away from the sidelines where she was watching and came up to Melissa. She took Melissa’s hand and told her it was all right. And Amy and Melissa finished that race together.
And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has willed
His truth to triumph through us.
*****
1 Photo credit: The President of the Russian Federation website www.kremlin.ru, and used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
2 Photo credit: Modified from a picture by Lauri Heikkinen and the Finnish Government and used under a CC by 2.0 Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
