By Nancy Virden (c)2025

We know what is happening to Los Angeles. Crazy wildfires are out of control. It seems everyone has an opinion on how they started and why they burn so freely in residential areas. Some see it as a harbinger, a warning sign of God’s wrath. Others find the local government and water management to blame. My point is not to speculate but to offer a practical strategy for finding God and his peace in the middle of loss and fear.

“In the middle” means you are not in the beginning stages where hope once lived in your thoughts. Your losses are known or your fears well-founded. The end seems far away, and you wonder if you will survive this desperate time. Your firestorm may not be fire, but death, disease, or generalized fear based on all the world’s bad news. Maybe you have lost a dream or your health. I know loss. I know despair. I know what it is to seek death as a solution.

Sometimes our faith is old or nonexistent. We struggle to understand how a good God could allow such pain and why he doesn’t fix it. Our choice is to run from a God we do not comprehend or to run TO him in the effort to find him and know.

1.  Have genuine faith. It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him (Hebrews 11:6). A popular prayer among those without faith is, “If you’re real… ” followed by show me, prove it, or fix this situation. Demanding anything from God is arrogance even in the midst of pain. Faith is a choice.
2. Fear God. Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). We are to fear God? Like a child or a puppy will duck behind the couch to hide when they know they are guilty, we are to fear the consequences of unbelief and wrongdoing. God is holy. There is nothing false, dark, or evil in him. In light of this, will you question God or instead take your point of view to him for clarification? He is the Almighty God, powerful and able to save. Do not fear people or circumstances, but fear God who has the right and ability to choose your eternal destiny.
3. Grow your faith. So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ (Romans 10:17).  Where do we go to “hear” spiritual truth? The answer is The Holy Bible. Some preachers, philosophers, and self-named prophets will come in the name of Jesus and teach foolishness. The Bible warns us in 2 Peter 2 that there will be false teachers, and because of these, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed, they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. On the other hand, All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right (2 Timothy 3:16). Jesus answered such teachers by saying,  “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God” (Mark 12:24).
4. Turn to Jesus. Jesus replied, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by me” (John 14:6). God’s process for you to be made right with him is simple: believe in, surrender to, and follow his Son, Jesus the Christ. And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life (1 John 5:11-12).  This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life” (Romans 1:17).
5. Resign sin. We have all sinned and come short of God’s holiness. We do not live the joyous and peaceful lives he made us to because we lie, steal, kill, are sexually immoral, replace God with other “idols” such as money, use his name as a swear word, hurt other people, dishonor our parents, ignore God, falsely accuse others, and so on. In Matthew 3:8 Jesus tells religious people to “prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.”
6. Worship with music. Listen to Christian music that is uplifting and helpful. As you listen, praise and thank God for who he is, what he has done, and what he is healing in your life. Samples: Lauren Daigle ; church praise songs ; Air1 Radio

-COMMENTS WELCOME

Today’s Helpful Word

Psalm 32: 8-10

 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
    which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
    or they will not come to you.
Many are the woes of the wicked,
    but the Lord’s unfailing love
    surrounds the one who trusts in him.

If you are feeling suicidal, or concerned about someone who is, in the U.S. call 988, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. For a list of international suicide hotlines, go here.

If you are suicidal with a plan, immediately call 911 in the U.S. or go to your nearest emergency room. In the EU call 112. (For other international emergency numbers, go here ). Hope and help are yours!

Always the Fight Ministries (ATFM) has been displaying compassion for those fighting mental illness, addiction, or abuse since 2012. Nancy is the founder and voice of ATFM and openly shares her emotional resurrection from despair. 

NOTE: Nancy is not a doctor or a mental health professional, and speaks only from personal experience and observations. This website is not intended to substitute for professional mental or behavioral health care.

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