Shootings, stabbings, bombings, race riots, gangs, rape, murder, genocide; Black lives matter, police lives matter, all lives matter but what does it matter? Politicians lie, people lie and so many lie unnecessarily in early graves. Save the whales, save the schools, save the planet, save the children, but save them for what future? Muslims against Christians, Christians against other Christians, and seemingly the world against Judaism while the Atheists say, "I told you so." Women's rights, animal rights, civil rights, gun rights, LGBT rights - so many rights, but everything still seems so wrong. The world has become dangerous and angry. Their clamoring for peace is drowned out by the ever increasing clamor of violence. Where is God? Does He hear? Does He know? Does He care? Has God completely lost control of our world?

For us, the answer to this direct question is a resounding NO!  God has NOT lost control – not at all and not for one second!  Having said this, we are not implying that the world is now even remotely in harmony with God’s will and way; on the contrary, we see the world now as further from God than ever before.  Sounds like we are just digging a deeper hole for ourselves, doesn’t it?  Let me explain:

Inside out or outside in?

We have to understand the viewpoint from which we look upon this dilemma.  If we look from the inside out (because that is where we live), all we can see is the trouble and unrest surrounding us.  Look back in history and we see the trouble was there.  Look forward to the future and the trouble sure seems to be heading there as well.  In short, an inside out perspective can only see misery and death.  What if we were to look from the outside in as God does (because that’s where He lives) – what would we see then?

We would see a plan and a pattern with a beginning, middle and an end to the trouble.  Most importantly, we would see the reason for all of this.  If we could look from the outside in, we could then be on the same page as God and could therefore see the hope that God planned that He Himself sees.

Does the prophet Joel gives us a roadmap?

We start to understand this unique perspective by going back to the prophet Joel.  Joel gave us a specific prophecy about massive destruction at the end of the age brought upon our world by “The Lord’s Great Army.”  Joel describes them as gnawing, swarming, creeping and ravaging locusts.  So who is in this army?  It probably isn't who you think!  What do they do?  How do they destroy society and how does this all add up to an amazing message of hope for the future of every man, woman and child who ever lived?

Check out our Monday August 22^nd broadcast, “Has God Lost Control of Our World?” and see things from a new perspective.  It all adds up to an incredibly refreshing and revealing look at how God’s will can be accomplished for the good of the world even when the world in general does not give God the time of day.