I should have saved my DVRs of the Winter Olympics. I liked the news from Russia a lot better back then. As soon as the fireworks in Sochi ended, the fireworks in Ukraine began. And suddenly part of Ukraine is part of Russia. Hello?
And with Russia flexing its expansionist muscles, I'm hearing those two words again. Words we thought we buried in the '80s.
Cold War.
The standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine feels uncomfortably familiar. And potentially explosive.
It doesn't help that a Russian anchor (reportedly, Putin's "favorite") was on State-controlled TV this week with a mushroom cloud as his backdrop. Announcing that Russia is the only country capable of turning the U.S. into "radioactive ash."
Not what you want to watch right before bed.
It feels like the opening act of a world growing even more unstable and dangerous.
And the missing jetliner doesn't help. The longer it's "unfindable," the more the troubling suspicions grow.
More and more people are suggesting this could be the precursor of a new terrorism. Where that plane becomes a weapon. So we don't find the plane, but one day the plane finds us?
Overall, a disturbing few days in the world.
New talk of a Cold War standoff with a resurgent Russia. Rekindled fears of a terrorism that not long ago seared our souls. Oh, and the growing prospect of weapons of mass destruction in some pretty scary hands.
Increasingly, it feels like one little spark could send things spinning out of control.
Our control, that is.
I turned off the news and reached for a Bible.
I read where David, the revered Jewish king, asked "what can we do when the foundations are being destroyed?" With so many "foundations" shaking these days, good question.
"The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord is on His heavenly throne" (Psalm 11:3-4).
At first, that didn't sound like it answered the questions. But then I realized I was reading about the one unmoving anchor when everything else is up for grabs.
God has not vacated the throne from which the universe is governed.
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Things might be out of our control. But they're never out of God's control. Nations may fall. Evil men may plot - and even succeed. The doctor may stun us with bad news. The finances may seem impossible. The funeral may seem like the end. Our family may look hopeless.
But God has not vacated the throne from which the universe is governed. "It is the Lord's purpose that prevails" (Proverbs 19:21).
I was scared to death on my first big roller coaster ride as a kid. And pretty sure I was going to die at the age of nine. Jerking every which-way. Defying gravity. Out of control.
But not out of control. Because the whole time that car was flying all over, it was attached to the tracks. Headed for a safe destination.
I am not at the mercy of a roller coaster world. I am loved by the God who rules the galaxies.
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I am not at the mercy of a roller coaster world. I am loved by the God who rules the galaxies. Whose plans cannot be derailed. I am not afraid. However wild the ride, things are still on track.
"He's got the whole world in His hands."
