Hope in a Troubled World

[Darris McNeely] Years ago, I learned to love rooms with high ceilings, rooms with big windows that led in plenty of light. And that decision crafted in me a life of hope.

1968 was maybe the most turbulent year in one of America's most turbulent decades. It was an election year. The country was deeply fractured across political, social, and cultural lines. The tension was unbearable, and the future was uncertain. The Republican candidate was reviled by much of the media, seen by many in the public as a dangerous threat to democracy. Yet, he drew passionate support from a conservative middle class who were worried about the direction the country was headed. The Democratic candidate had served as vice president to a president whose controversial policies had only deepened national division. Many viewed him as out of touch and effective. Unrest became the norm. Protests against a foreign war consumed college campuses. Students occupied administrative buildings and took over classrooms. And cities were in turmoil. Public order was unraveling over climate change, economic inequality, and racial and social injustice. The nation was also in the throes of a sexual revolution. If that wasn't enough, a deadly virus that spread from China was causing widespread illness and death. The possibility of nuclear conflict with Russia and China was a looming threat.

Does that sound familiar? I was 17 years old then. A high school student. I was doing my homework, looking into colleges, thinking about what I would do with the rest of my life, planning a future in a world that too many seem to be ending. But I got through it, and I'll tell you how.

I remember how overwhelming it felt. The future seemed uncertain. There was even a song called The Age of Destruction that made it up the charts. There was fear, confusion, cynicism. The world looked like it was coming apart.

As a teenager, I was very interested in Bible prophecy, world events. And like many people, I watched as history came to life and unfolded through the lens of the Bible that I was reading. I read the prophecies of Daniel. I read Matthew chapter 24 in Christ's words on the Mount of Olives. I read the book of Revelation.

These books were also being talked about in the popular culture. Many people of faith saw the convergence of world events as signs of the end time. The world felt unstable. And in that climate, it was easy to fall into a mindset of fear and dread. It left some of us young people feeling that really there was no future to hope for.

But I clung to something else. I clung to the Word of God, the Bible. Because in the study of the Bible, I found some peace. Not denial, not pessimism, not escapism. I found a message of hope that transcended the world headlines in the politics and the cultural problems of the day.

I read in Luke chapter 21 the words of Jesus where He said, when you hear of wars and commotions, and we were hearing of a lot of them then we do today, Jesus said, do not be terrified. For these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately. In the same chapter, Jesus warned His followers not to be weighed down by anxiety or distractions. He said, take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that day come on you unexpectedly.

Watch therefore, He said, pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all those things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man.

You know, even in the times of chaos that we have today, we're not without hope. Even when the fear is there, we're not without a future. Why? Because God determines the times He's in charge.

The apostle Paul stood before the philosophers of the Greek city of Athens, and he said something profound about God's control over human history. He looked him in the eye and he said that God has made from one blood every nation of men and has determined their pre-appointed times the boundaries of their dwellings so that they should seek the Lord in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him though He is not far from each one of us. It's in Acts 17. What does that mean?

It means the time in which we live today is not a random time. God determines the times. God sets the boundaries. And even in uncertainty, God remains in control. His purpose is not to confuse, but to draw us closer, to help us seek Him and to find Him. He's not far away.

That truth grounded me as a young man. It helped me see through the confusion of the moment I had as a teenager. It gave me courage and it still gives me courage today. I have the opportunity to teach people, young people, things about the Bible. And particularly in the book of Daniel, I have found an interesting experience and parallel to my own life and to yours.

In the year 600 BC, Daniel was taken captive. His hometown of Jerusalem was just was taken over by the Babylonians. And it was a time of upheaval in that age. I found a book a few years ago by a historian of the Bible, John Bright, a book called The History of Israel, where he writes about the entire civilization surrounding that period. It was on the verge of collapse, it seems. And the words that he described, ancient Israel and Babylon or the time of Daniel, apply to our time. Here's what he said, "All over the world, a certain anxiety was in the air. There was an ominous, pervasive perception that the lights were going out on the civilizations that had been in place for thousands of years. Foundations were cracking and it was felt nothing would ever be the same. People turned to religion, old and new, for solace and comfort and meaning. There was a premonition of judgment. There was every effort to make the nations great once again and keep everything from collapsing into chaos." That's John Bright writing about the time of the prophet Daniel 2,700 years ago.

You all know the story of Daniel. He was a teenager. His world was turned upside down. As I said, his hometown Jerusalem, it fell to the Babylonians and he was taken captive to that big city. Daniel had every reason to throw in the towel and despair, give up in bitterness, compromises faith. But Daniel did something else.

The Scriptures in the book of Daniel tell us a lot, but there's one that I've always focused on. It says that in Daniel was, quote, "light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods. This was found in him". That was said by the queen of Babylon, not by God. Did God put those words in her mouth? She certainly saw Daniel's example because he lived his life, his faith, in a time of uncertainty. He lived it in faith. Daniel saw his life through a big window, not through a narrow slit of pessimism and despair.

He lived in what I call a big ceiling room, a life marked by joy, peace, light and hope. Daniel survived his upheaval by looking to God and living with purpose.

You can go to ucg.org/bt502. We've got a booklet called Christ's Reign on Earth: What It Will Be Like to help you begin to study with the motive of gaining hope for the future and how to live in this world today with that hope.

I've been talking about Daniel, who knew God. In the middle of the political and cultural disruption of his particular time, Daniel remained faithful. In the face of that compromise of other people, Daniel stood strong. He learned to fast. He prayed, were told three times a day. He interpreted dreams. He served kings. He influenced empires. He didn't fall into what philosophers called nihilism. He didn't retreat into passivity. He embraced hope with clarity. He walked with the God of history and became a light in his generation and to us today. That's what we're called to do. As it says in the book of Daniel, chapter 11, in the last prophecy that he had, it says that the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits.

He's talking about people of faith today. He's talking about our calling. You see, in our time, there is a remnant just like there was in the time of Daniel. I read about people today across the country who stand for truth, young people on college campuses, families holding on to biblical values. I read about people of faith pushing back against the darkness of our time, not with rage or fear, but with truth and love.

That's a big difference. Today we need more people like that, like Daniel, men and women who live with light, understanding and wisdom in a big ceiling room. Those are the qualities that all of us need in this age of digital deception, moral confusion and global anxiety.

Our message is different here on Beyond Today. Our message is of God's truth. It's a message that's meant to prepare you for the spiritual war around us every day.

You are training to stand against the rulers of darkness in this age, to live as salt and light in a world growing ever more hostile to truth, to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God in your life with confidence and clarity. We fight not with carnal weapons, but we fight with the sword of the Spirit of God. Our message on Beyond Today equips you not just with information, but with transformation. And you're being prepared to knock down the gates of hell, the agents of renewal in a world falling apart.

As the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 6, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The Bible is our foundation for hope. That's what we hold in our hands. That's the book that gives us the power and the purpose, the Word of God.

In Acts 19, those who practiced black magic in the city of Ephesus in the ancient time came to faith. But they didn't just believe it quietly. They took their books of witchcraft and black magic and burned them in public. They renounced the darkness and they embraced the light. That's the result of the power of the gospel. It delivers. It transforms. It renews. The Bible isn't a book of fairy tales. It's the living Word of God. It reveals the story of a God who intervenes, redeems and restores. And it calls us to live differently, boldly, righteously. We're not called to live cramped, fearful lives. We're called to live in big rooms with high ceilings, large windows that let in the sunlight of God's truth. Windows that open onto a world filled with need and opportunity. A world waiting for light bearers, waiting for people of faith. This age is not the end.

Understand that. It's the beginning for anyone who understands God's work on earth. It's the setting for men and women of God to shine, to lead, to love and to overcome.

The hope I speak of is not abstract. It's not blind optimism. It's not rooted in politics or policies. Hope has a name, and His name is Jesus Christ. He is the one who calms the storm, breaks the chains, heals the sick, forgives the sinner, and restores the soul, and He's coming again. Until then, we live as people of life, understanding and wisdom. We live like Daniel in our own modern Babylon. We live with courage, clarity and conviction.

So in this troubled world, don't lose heart. Don't give in to despair. Don't shrink back.

We'd like to help you watch, pray and to stand firm. That's why we're sharing with you our study aid, Christ's Reign on Earth: What It Will Be Like to give you that hope in the future. Visit ucg.org/bt502 to begin reading this and other helpful, hopeful resources related to this topic. And learn how you can above all live with hope.