Many trends add up to a disturbing time — but we are not without influence through faith in God

That is a common question, being repeated throughout society as people put together in their minds violent extreme weather events, electoral turbulence and challenges to results, drugs and violent crime soaring.

This week will see another thousand (yes, you read that right) stabbings in the UK which will add their pressure on to hospital accident and emergency departments — together with drug and alcohol abuse. It’s dysfunctional. And it’s preventable.

In the US the polarisation of voters seems to have overtaken clear policies or positions, and appeals for political loyalty have been framed in language of intolerance and even hatred to motivate voters. Both camps are appealing to Christian or at least churchgoing voters to support them on moral grounds. But where is God and where is love in all this confusion?

Many of those taking children into nursery, or school, will meet over a coffee this week and share their concerns about the uncertainties of bringing up children in the world we live in.

What is happening? And what is God saying about this?

Most people don’t talk in terms of ‘the end times’ — that’s a Christian phrase borrowed from the Bible — but people will voice their concerns about spiralling social breakdown and wanting to move to a less challenging neighbourhood.

Might that be a way of getting back some control? Or will it simply turn out that we can’t outrun the difficulties?

Better, surely, to address the cause than to try and insure against, or isolate from, bad outcomes.

There’s a Christian viewpoint that is looking for answers in the kingdom of God — God’s good and just rule and order — rather than any political movement or empire.

Retreating from the world into some kind of religious role isn’t going to make a difference. We need to get involved in meeting needs:

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically (Romans 12:11 NLT)

We need to know and be known by the world around us — even if the values we hold are different.

It’s not for us to judge those who see things differently but we can influence them — and we are equipped to do that. We are carriers of the Holy Spirit, the presence of Jesus, and we bring Him to every intersection of life that we find. Working hard and serving the Lord enthusiastically has a spiritual dimension.

Our practical involvement — on a school Parent Teacher Association, serving on a local council or as a volunteer at the food bank becomes a divine force for change when it is also a prayerful engagement. Many of the people we meet wouldn’t be confident in asking for God’s help, but we who know Him are talking to Him all the time!

We may be firmly on the side of bringing what is better, but at the same time experiencing lurches to worse; governance gets worse, war causes shortage and displacement over a wide area, dishonesty seems to have the upper hand and trust for people in positions of authority has withered. It feels like watching dying embers. The Bible warns of such a time:

But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. (1 Peter 4:7 NKJV)

The call to “be watchful” implies that as we are forewarned, we are are also forearmed.

Those who are looking to Jesus for answers are told to:

…Be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 ESV)

Watchful, spiritually alert people are not powerless. We can all choose to join the partnership between us on earth and the good and just order we are calling down from heaven as we:

At all times, pray by the power of the Spirit. Pray all kinds of prayers. Be watchful, so that you can pray. Always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:18 NIrV)

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