If you read the news and follow social media throughout the world, you will find a continued decline in hope for the future. Many people feel a sense of hopelessness and a lack of control in their lives.
How are Christians to respond? What message can we offer to the world?
We can offer Jesus and His Kingdom as a light in the darkness, an enduring hope. Here is that second devotion that reminds us that our hope is in Christ:

IN WORD – How do you react in a crisis? Or, to ask an even more revealing question, how do you react in the minor irritations of everyday life? The answer is not a matter of what you say you believe. It’s a matter of your familiarity, even intimacy, with your Father. As much as we say that He is trustworthy and true, our tower of strength and our shield, those are only words until they are tested. And in this world, they are tested often.
Have you ever known Christians who believe the right things about God but who panic at every difficulty? It’s hard to believe that someone’s belief in the sovereignty and faithfulness of God are more than skin deep when his panic sets in. The truth of our relationship with God comes out when the heat is on. We discover whether we really trust Him or not when we’re put in a position of having to trust Him. A belief in God’s providence means little until one lacks essentials, and a belief in God’s strength means little until one is completely helpless. Then the truth comes out. Those who have not put their trust in the Refuge, who ignore Him and go their own way, are wicked, according to the Bible.
That may seem harsh, but that’s the true assessment of the human rebellion. And those who do not really trust Him will be brought down by every calamity. Those who do trust Him can’t be brought down by anything—even death.
IN DEED – So where do you stand? Do you have a shallow belief in God’s faithfulness, applying His promises to others’ situations but not to your own? We are called to live in a different dimension than we once lived in. We must know who our Fortress is. We are not to become strong; we are to find our strength in Him. We must let His peace speak louder to us than our trials do. God stands firm when everything else moves. Can you? “As sure as God puts His children in the furnace, He will be in the furnace with them.” — Charles Spurgeon (in “Walk with God” by Chris Tiegreen)

Do you have an unshakeable hope that is grounded in the Lord? Can you make the same statements as Habakkuk (end of chapter 3) or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3?
If you need a reminder, take time to reflect on Psalms 2 – 7. Meditate on one psalm each day and use it as your prayer to the Lord to make you unshakeable in these perilous times. Have a blessed week! from Taipei, Pastor Sam