Does anyone else struggle to watch the news these days? To be honest, not that I watched that much of it, to begin with, but since lock-down in 2020, I have watched less and less news and almost tend to avoid it. Why? Corruption. Unrest. Hate Crimes. Murder. Dissension. War... the list goes on. After 30 minutes of this, it’s easy to find myself distressed, depressed, and even in tears at the state of our world.

While I agree that it’s important to know what’s going on in the world, I also know how much the volume of these things affects my thinking. When we’re constantly bombarded by trials, sadness, and evil, it's easy to allow these things to consume our thinking and warp our view of God. When Covid-19 first hit, I sat at home and watched the news like most of the world waiting for updates. After each newscast, I found myself becoming more and more fearful and anxious. Why?

Romans 8 talks about what we set our minds on. I remember a quote shared at worship night a few years ago... and it has stuck with me ever since, often reminding me of my erring from God. It’s a simplified quote from Corrie Ten Boom which says:

Eyes on me, depressed.
Eyes on the world, distressed.
Eyes on God, at rest.

Think about it for a moment. What do you feel right now... depressed, distressed, or at rest? Where are your eyes fixed?

Over the last two years, this simple test has without fail explained why I feel the way that I do at the moment—whatever life’s circumstances have been. When I felt depressed, my eyes were on me. When I felt distressed, my eyes were focused on the world, and all the chaos and evil that was happening. An amazing change of perspective came when I shifted my eyes to God. When He is our focus, we finally feel at rest.

Sounds short, sweet, and simple, right? I could wrap up there, but the reality is that there is more to it. To fix my eyes on God and not my trials or the current events going on in the world around me, I need to trust Him and know that He is in control.

Do we truly trust Him though? Have you ever “trusted Him” before for something and things didn’t end the way you had hoped? Has what you were trusting God for ever ended with loss, grief, and sadness? Why would we trust Him if He doesn’t always give us what we want?

An important question to ask is, “What is our trust rooted in?”

A few weeks ago, Evan asked a question in the message he shared, “What are your expectations for the Christian life?” I don’t know about you, but if I dig deep... I expect a break every once in a while. Maybe some smooth sailing after a long, stormy trial or series of storms. Not a perfect or completely pain-free life, but at least one where I can expect rewards for serving Him and will be spared from certain challenges or trials, right? But are these expectations biblical? Does God actually promise us worldly comfort in this life? When I look at Scripture, I don’t find the promise of a pain-free, comfortable life.  God never promises this to his followers, not on this side of eternity at least. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

Because we have false hope in “promises” that were never given (that aren’t Biblical) and therefore unmet expectations, we tend to get mad at God for things that He didn’t promise. If I'm honest, my unbiblical expectations have added to my doubt of God's goodness and hindered my trust in Him, because I feel let down by Him every time another trial comes, and I don’t get the easy life that I want and expect I should be rewarded with.

What are you trusting Him for now? Are you expecting and hoping for the actual promises that God gave us?

So where is God in all of this? Recently, after a long series of trials and losses, I found myself in another season of doubting God’s goodness after praying for a loved one’s healing but finding myself at another funeral. God seemed distant and unworthy of my trust. Then, I heard this song:

But You, Son of Man
Love incarnate
You don't see from far away
You come, sit with me
And grieve with me
And I see tears on Your face

“Tears on Your Face” by Bethany Dillon

And I realized, I wasn’t alone in my grief and brokenness. What grieved me also grieved Him. The trials and losses that caused great pain for me in my life weren’t just looked on by God from a distance. He was present with me in my suffering, grieving the brokenness with me. What breaks my heart breaks His, but even more so, and that’s why He came!

Jesus isn’t far away from our grief or our trials. He’s right beside us. When we mourn, He mourns with us. When terrible things happen and we ask why it’s a reminder of the gospel—your broken heart is why He came. This current trial you are experiencing is why He came because this world is broken. We are broken. And we can’t fix it no matter how hard we try.

Jesus loved us enough that He entered into this broken and horrific world for us because we couldn’t fix it on our own. The effects of sin are felt deeply in our lives, circumstances, relationships, and in the world around us. He is the only one that can make it right, and He is in the process of healing what was broken—beginning with the cross and our restored relationship with Him... praise God.

In His time, He will renew, heal, and restore all that is broken in our hearts, in our lives, and in this world. THAT is our hope. Not in an easy, comfortable life right now, but in a God who enters into the mess and walks with us through the brokenness. A God who offers a way out and is restoring all of it in His time.

In this world... we will have trouble… (that’s why Jesus entered it), but take heart, He has overcome the world (fix your eyes on this... on Him).

Eyes on God, at rest.

Additional Scripture References: John 11:33-35, John 3:16, Romans 5:1-5, James 1:2-4, Revelation 21:4