Keeping Your Family Stable in an Unstable World

With terrorist attacks, dangerous dictators, and senseless murders all around us, sometimes it feels like the whole world has gone crazy … and maybe it has.
But God is still on His throne! Even when the battles rage and death seems to be all around us, God is still in sovereign control. As I raise my family in this world of upside down values and unprecedented media coverage, I remember the words of Jesus, “… Let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Oftentimes, it is God’s will that His people pass through the fire of suffering and trials, even persecution. But He promises victory on the other side. He promises to go with us into the fire, and to provide a way through.
So how do we practically walk the path of stability in an unstable world? Here are a few suggestions:
First, make your spiritual life a priority. Learn to pray. Don’t just bow your head and mumble a few words and call it prayer—get down on your knees and cry out to God! Fervently, humbly, regularly. God listens to our prayers when we are desperate for His grace and mercy.
Live righteously. James 5:16 (NKJV) says, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” How are we going to pass on a faith to our children that they have never been exposed to? It must be deep and sincere and pour out of us like life’s blood. If we don’t bleed the message of Christ, then we aren’t taking our faith seriously enough.
Go to church as a family and really worship—thank God, praise God, tell Him you love Him, think about what you’re doing there, and then do it with joy! In the words of King David, “I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord'” (Psalm 122:1). When was the last time you were excited and glad to participate in the corporate worship of God? Church is not only about seeing your friends or participating in the community. It’s about pouring out your heart and soul—giving all the glory—to the one who saved you from hell.
Second, make the Word of God central in your home. Jesus said, “Everyone … who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and bear on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25). If your home is not standing on the teachings of the Bible, you will never have assurance or abiding peace. That is a privilege only for those who build their homes on those principles.
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