How to Maintain Your Sanity in the Midst of a Crazy, Evil World

Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and the Kingdom of God.

Even if you really haven’t been paying attention for the past several years, you’ve probably noticed that the world has flipped upside down. We’ve had pandemics, shut downs, forced isolation, riots, burning cities, political fights, election controversies, vaccine mandates, censorship, cancelations, refugees, inflation, and probably a few more that I forgot to mention. Honestly, who can keep it all straight?

These days, everything in popular culture is backwards from the way it was just a few years ago. Right is wrong, and wrong is right. Up is down, and down is up. Good is evil, and evil is good.

Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash

As the old saying goes, it’s enough to drive a man to drink. And many have. Since COVID, rates of alcoholism have spiked. So have anxiety and depression. So, it’s not just your imagination. We’re all feeling it.

Historically, when the world gets crazy, people look to social institutions to help provide stability. But these days, all our institutions are a mess, too. All our leaders (political, social, academic, etc.) are preaching toxic messages and generating antagonism and anxiety. Even the traditional church, which should be a bulwark against craziness, has decided to go woke, throw in with popular culture, and embrace heresy.

So, the solution is simple, right? All we need to do is change the leaders.

Yes, that’s it. Just do that.

The King of Kings

If we’re going to change the leaders, then we should volunteer for our favorite political party and help vote the bums out, right? Well, there’s nothing wrong with that, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

Rather than throw out all the leaders, we need to ignore the leaders who are powerless or corrupt and who are actually contributing to the problem. Instead, we need to keep our focus on the one leader who can actually solve the problems — Jesus.

Remember that Jesus subsumes all leaders, everywhere. He’s the King of Kings. There is nobody with more authority and power in this world than Jesus. He created the universe and then, when we sinned, he defeated death for us. So, there’s literally nothing that he can’t do, literally no power that he doesn’t have access to.

Fortunately, if we’re Christians, he loves us and we’re on his side. He promised us peace, not anxiety. Remember, in John 14, verse 27, he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Daily Practice

Okay, so Jesus told us not to be afraid, and we should just repeat John 14:27 as some sort of self-affirmation, right?

Well, surely, repeating scripture is not ever a bad plan. You’ll remember it and you can certainly take comfort from it.

Then why do I still feel anxious?

For two reasons:

1. You’re focused on your own outcomes for your mortal life. You’re worried about your job, your retirement, your family. Now, surely, all those things are important, but they aren't the most important.

2. You’ve got an idle mind because you’re not sure what to work on to make things better. And as the old saying goes, an idle mind is the Devil’s plaything. When you think that all you can do is wait and not do anything productive, your mind tends to focus on what you see as a looming catastrophe, and that generates anxiety.

Okay, so what should I do?

First off, pray. Remember, it’s never a bad time to

1. Praise God

2. Pray

3. Read His Word

If you’re ever stuck in life and can’t figure out what to do next, do one of those three things, or ideally all of them.

Do These Three Things Daily and Watch Your Faith Explode

Okay, that’s fine and that certainly orients everything in the spiritual world. But what should I do in the physical world? After all, these are ultimately problems in the physical world, right?

Try dropping down on your knees and praying. Yes, seriously. While the things that worry us are typically outcomes in the physical world, they all have root in the spiritual world. So, again, go back to the King of King on your knees and have a conversation with him.

The Whole Solution

Ultimately, the whole secret to maintaining your peace and calm is to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and to shift the things that you care about to being the things that He cares about. Let’s unpack that further.

In Matthew 6, verses 19 - 34, Jesus tells us to not be worried about money, food, drink, and clothes. He specifically says (verse 32 and 33, NLT), “³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

So, part of the bargain that we discussed in Maybe It's Time to Question Your Faith, Part 2 is that if we focus on the Kingdom of God, God will take care of our material needs. Simply, we do not have to worry about that stuff. It’s a God-given promise.

Maybe It's Time to Question Your Faith, Part 2

So, if we don’t need to focus on those things, what should we focus on? Answer: whatever Jesus is focused on. So, what is Jesus focused on? The Kingdom of God. What does he command you to be focused on? The Kingdom of God.

So, it seems there is something active for you to be doing that will help occupy your otherwise idle mind, after all. You need to be thinking about stepping up to perform your role in God’s larger plan for his Kingdom. What is that role? Well, that’s something you should talk to him about in detail (see that previous paragraph on prayer).

Once you start to focus on playing your part in God’s Kingdom, everything else is noise. Also, joyfully, God only asks you to play your part, not achieve any specific outcome. So, there’s no daily quota of people that you have to approach and talk to about God. There are no monthly baptism or discipleship targets. Effectively, God says, “When I ask you to step up and do something, I need you to do it. Period. You let me worry about the outcome. It may look like you’ve failed, but I’ve got a bigger plan and there are things happening that you don’t see and can’t understand. You just focus on your obedience and let me worry about the rest.”

Everything else in your life is, quite simply, noise.

Politics upside down? Don’t care. Economy teetering on the edge of collapse? Not my problem. Inflation raging? That’s for God to worry about. Maybe somebody about to start World War III? He’s got it.

All you have to do is focus on stepping up and playing your part in His Kingdom. And you don’t even have to worry about the outcome of that. The only criteria for success is your obedience. If you were obedient today, then it’s a great day. If you weren’t, then you need to spend some more time in prayer and redouble your focus tomorrow.

Does that mean we just check out of all the earthly stuff and ignore it? Should I stop voting? Should I not volunteer for a position on the school board? Should I just leave all these activities to others?

No, that’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is to seek first the Kingdom of God. Ask God what you should be working on here. If he says, “Run for school board president,” then do it. And yes, Christians should exercise their full rights to participate in the societies in which they live. But they should also be very aware of the limitations of all those social institutions. None of them have the power that Jesus has.

And it’s important to understand that God doesn’t necessarily care about the things that you might care about. Specifically, God is not a Republican or a Democrat. He doesn’t care about the USA or other countries around the world outside of their roles in bringing His Kingdom to full fruition.

And as Christians living in those same countries, we need to make sure that we don’t confuse the two things. Jesus said to seek first the Kingdom of God, not make sure to get a favorite politician elected.

Humans, whether politicians, academics, or other leaders, even your own family and spouse, will always disappoint you at some level. So, neither your happiness nor your trust can be rooted in those people. It must be rooted firmly in Jesus.

Focus your attention on Jesus and follow only him. Focus on the Kingdom of God. Focus on stepping up in obedience to the specific things that God calls you to do.

Then, sit back, smile, and know that you’ve been obedient and that in some way the Kingdom of God has been advanced. That’s all that God has ever asked of you.

A Prayer

Holy Father, you are the creator of all things. And yet for all of us living in the material world, it’s easy to lose sight of that and doubt your power. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and to seek first your Kingdom. Help us to hear your calm voice as we seek you in prayer. Help us to step up and be obedient to your calling in our lives. Please help us to see your daily faithfulness to us as you provide for our material needs, as you promised us. Thank you for your love and for your plan. We look forward to the day when every knee in heaven and on earth bends before Jesus and his eternal throne. Amen.

A Personal Note

Writing this article was difficult. I have struggled with this issue for a long time, and those of you who know me closely might have witnessed some of that. It took me a long time to really start trusting Jesus rather than mere men. It also took me a long time to understand that Jesus doesn’t really require much of me. He just wants my total obedience and he’ll do the rest. But I’m the first to admit that in the heat of the moment, it’s really difficult to remember that and submit myself to him. But I know it to be true. Just writing this article, in fact, brought a wave of peace over me and a smile to my face. I hope it does the same for you.

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