Hold Onto This… Especially As The World Gets Crazier

TODAY'S TEACHING

Whatever was thus written in former days was written for our instruction, that by [our steadfast and patient] endurance and the encouragement [drawn] from the Scriptures we might hold fast to and cherish hope.

 —Romans 15:4

Some mornings you can barely get through the headlines before wondering what in the world is happening.

Another war. Another argument. Another frightening prediction about money, government, sickness, crime, technology, somebody doing something nobody would have imagined twenty years ago. Then your phone buzzes again.

It’s a lot.

And even if you don’t follow the news closely, life has enough ways of wearing you down without any help from the evening broadcast. A family problem can do it. One bad phone call can change the feel of an entire week.

We all need encouragement.

Not the fake kind where somebody tells you everything is wonderful when it plainly isn’t. Sometimes things are hard, and pretending otherwise doesn’t strengthen anybody. Biblical hope is sturdier than that.

Romans 15:4 says that through the Scriptures “we might have hope.” I love that because it means God knew there would be days when hope would need feeding. There are days when mine does.

A man named Thomas that I knew had developed a habit of checking the news before his feet even touched the floor in the morning. His alarm went off, he grabbed the phone, and within eight minutes he had already read about markets falling, political fighting, a violent crime, and another prediction that something terrible was supposedly coming next. By breakfast his shoulders were tight.

Nothing in his own house had changed. His wife was making toast. His dog was sitting beside the table hoping somebody would drop something. Sunlight was coming through the blinds just like yesterday. But inside, Thomas was already carrying the world.

One morning his phone battery had died overnight. He wasn’t pleased about it. While it charged, he picked up the Bible sitting on the dresser. Mostly because it was there. He ended up in Psalm 46.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

He read it again. Then a little farther: “Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed.”

That sounded almost unreasonable. The earth moved and these people were talking about refusing fear?

Thomas sat there longer than he intended. His coffee cooled beside him, and eventually his phone came back to life. The headlines were still there. Strange thing, though. They didn’t feel quite as large.

Nothing outside the room had changed. Something had been put back into perspective.

That’s one reason we need God’s Word so much.

The world talks loudly.

Fear and the enemy talk loudly too.

Scripture often waits quietly until we open it. And once we do, God starts reminding us of things panic conveniently forgot.

He is still God.

Jesus is still Lord.

God has not lost control because people have lost theirs.

His promises didn’t expire because the year got strange.

We need those reminders. Sometimes several times before lunch.

I have certain Scriptures I return to because I already know what happens inside me when discouragement gets too much room. My thoughts start running ahead, imagining conversations that haven’t happened and outcomes nobody has confirmed.

Maybe you know that feeling. The Bible slows that down. Not always immediately. Sometimes I read something and my emotions are still dragging behind like a stubborn child who doesn’t want to leave the store. I read it anyway.

Psalm 119:105 says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” A lamp doesn’t light five years from now. It gives enough light for where your feet are.

I think sometimes we want God to give us enough reassurance for the next decade when He is giving us truth for Tuesday.

Just take Tuesday. Tomorrow can have its own Scripture.

There are days when the most spiritual thing you can do is shut off the noise for a while and put God’s Word back in front of your eyes. Not because Christians should be ignorant about what’s happening. Because we should be careful about what gets the loudest voice inside us.

If you consume fear for three hours and Scripture for three minutes, don’t be surprised when fear feels stronger. That math matters.

Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee.” Maybe you’ve read that verse fifty times. Read it fifty-one.

God never said you had to discover a new verse every morning. Sometimes you need the old one again because you’re not the same person reading it today.

You may be hurting.

Frustrated.

Worried about somebody you love.

Maybe you got news you didn’t want and haven’t quite figured out how to talk about it yet.

Open the Bible anyway. Let God’s Word sit beside the fear for a while.

You don’t have to make yourself feel better in fifteen minutes. You don’t have to force some bright Christian mood because you think that’s what faith is supposed to look like.

Stay there.

Read.

Think.

Worship.

Pray a little.

Read the verse again. Hope has a way of returning quietly sometimes.

Psalm 42:11 says, “Hope thou in God.” That’s short enough to carry around all day. Hope thou in God.

Not in the economy behaving itself.

Not in politicians finally agreeing.

Not in every medical report being good.

Not in everybody around you making wise choices.

Hope in God. That’s different. Circumstances can change by lunchtime. God’s character doesn’t. That is what you hold onto.

And yes, there may be times when your grip feels weak. Hold on anyway. Or maybe more accurately, let God hold you because there are days when that is closer to the truth.

You don’t need heroic faith every morning. You need somewhere solid to put the faith you have. God’s Word is that place.

So when the world gets crazier, don’t let the noise become your Bible. Go back to what God said.

When fear tells you everything is falling apart, go back.

When disappointment makes tomorrow look smaller, go back.

When you’re tired of hearing bad news, when somebody you love is struggling, when your own thoughts have become exhausting, go back. There’s encouragement waiting there.

Maybe not the exact answer you wanted.

Maybe not a timeline.

Maybe not an explanation for why God allowed something.

But something better than empty reassurance.

Truth. And truth can hold weight.

So whatever happens today, keep hope alive.

Open God’s Word before fear writes the whole story for you. Let Scripture get into your thinking, even if you have to return to the same passage three mornings in a row.

The world may get stranger.

You may not understand all of it.

Hold onto God anyway.

Especially now.

And may God steady your heart, strengthen your hope, and keep reminding you that no headline, diagnosis, setback, or uncertain tomorrow has ever made Him less faithful than He was yesterday.

If this resonates with you, here's a short prayer you can say today:

"Dear God, some days there is just too much coming at me, news, problems, people I’m worried about, my own thoughts starting up again, and I need You to pull my attention back. Remind me what is true when fear gets noisy, and when I read Your Word, help me actually stay with it instead of racing through a verse while my mind is already somewhere else. I need hope, real hope, not something I have to fake. Keep me close today. Amen."

God bless you! 

Your brother in Christ,

Daniel
Daily Effective Prayer

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