The cold war was raging when I was in grammar school. We rehearsed hiding under our desks in case a nuclear bomb destroyed everything in sight and irradiated everything else. Yep. Those desks would surely protect us. Then, in geometry class in high school, I jumped at the sound of a drill on the street because we were in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Everyone laughed at me, but perhaps I was prescient—by several decades.

Conservative or liberal, I believe many would  agree that the world is a tinderbox of conflicts, any one of which could set off a conflagration that would make the old definition of war look like an understatement. We need to be strong. We need to be wise. Frankly, we need God.

Love him or hate him

Threading the geo-political needle is a high-stakes game. Some applaud Trump’s policies, while others can barely contain their fury and fear. It feels like we’re speeding down an Interstate in the opposing lane. Maybe we can reach our destination best this way, or we may cause a pileup. Either way, listening to established or alternate news sources, we hear nothing that would make us sleep well. Trump said he believed God spared him from the assassin’s bullet for a reason. Well, God is sovereign over the world, so I must agree. The question is, did God spare him to help America and the world or to bring us closer to the Tribulation?

Does it matter?

I may agree with this administration’s actions or they may infuriate me. But I will not make a golden hero of Trump nor will I hate him and wish he’d never been born. Neither option pleases the Lord.

If you’ve never read the Bible before, now would be a good time to crack it open. Nations rose and fell. When we humans worshiped and obeyed the great I AM WHO AM, prosperity reigned. When we turned away from Him and to ourselves instead, well, you have what we have today. Wash, rinse, and repeat.

Yet God, in His infinite mercy sent His Son to redeem us and created a Kingdom on earth that no power can defeat. In that Kingdom, only two things matter. Jesus’ love for us and our love for Him. Everything else is mere commentary.

Think about that.

Something is going to take you out, my friend. Some day you will die and absolutely nothing on the planet that you treasured will mean squat to you. Does it matter in the eternal scheme of things if I live to be 99 and die of cancer or if a bomb takes me out in a millisecond? Either way I ‘m dead and facing Jesus. Or I will live to see Him return on the last day to separate those who belong to Him from those that don’t. “Oopsie” won’t work then.

God is just. God is merciful. His judgments are perfect. His thoughts are waaaaaay above ours. He is all powerful. He is sovereign over all. As Job said, “Though you slay me, I will worship you.” Now there was a smart guy.

So as for me, I will cling to my Savior and know He will bring me through whatever lies ahead. I will rejoice in His Kingdom, whether in heaven or on a new earth.

And like responding to the tornado warning I received a few days ago to take cover immediately, I’m taking the only cover that works no matter what. What about you? Trusting to luck?