Don't ever forget that things and events in this world that offer so much grief and trouble and confusion cannot overcome God’s people.

To say that we live in turbulent and unsettled times would be an understatement. The last six months have brought a succession of worldwide crises with continuous and head-spinning rapidity.

Some were natural disasters. Earthquakes. A tsunami. Potential nuclear meltdown. Flooding of historic proportions. Relentless blizzards. Some events were man-made. Across the Middle East, protesters took to the streets in angry protest. Dictators were forced from power. Our own soldiers continue in combat on multiple fronts. After years of economic troubles, high unemployment, foreclosures, frequent bankruptcies by banks and businesses, and sharp political clashes at the state and national levels top the news. Worries about inflation, health care, retirement, and the cost of education are all-consuming for many. This is not to mention the problems that you may be facing personally in health, employment, or family relationships. The world literally seems to be going crazy.

I can't recall a time when it seemed like everything in this world was going wrong at the same time—and I lived through the '60s.

The church has not been immune. Many Christian church bodies continue to move farther away from the teachings of the Scriptures, causing pain and heartache to their members and forfeiting the comfort and truth of God's Word. Our own synod has struggled to keep missionaries in the field and to seize the many opportunities God is giving us. We always seem to be struggling to keep our doctrine and our application of that doctrine faithful to the Scriptures. Your own congregation is likely facing serious challenges in finances and stewardship, while at the same time witnessing the encroachment of a godless culture on the morals and values of its members.

The storm seems to be swirling around us from every direction. And what is most surprising about this is that we are surprised or unprepared for it.

That shouldn't be. Jesus himself told his disciples, who were facing a difficult life in a sin-devastated world, "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33). Those disciples would face the hardships of life, rejection by their friends, challenges by false teachers, persecution by their enemies, and even death itself. The fact that they were Christians did not make them immune to those troubles. In fact, sometimes it increased their exposure. Those words of Jesus signaled that his church on earth would always be the church militant, the church under attack by Satan, the church struggling against the forces of evil in a sinful world.