Panic Attack!
“My mind is like my internet browser—17 tabs are open, three of them are frozen, and I have no idea where the music is coming from.” —Author Unknown
How I sometimes get inspiration for some of my "articles" is a funny thing. I like to think that my mind is much like a Designer's Reference Library. What exactly does that mean? As a designer, or as I like to call myself an "illustracer", over the years I've collected little knick-knacks in both physical and digital form. I've used these as reference or inspirational material for designs I've created. My mind works in a similar way. I have a lot of "mental references" that often pop up at the most random times and inspire me to write something. Or I might read something that makes the gears in my head turn, or that makes the wood burn.
In this case, I was watching a great illustrator (notice I didn’t say ‘illustracer’) by the name of Chris Piascik talking about creating repeat patterns which I find fascinating. I’m always interested to see other designers “tricks of the trade”. I used to do a lot of repeat patterns during my tenure as a designer at Hurley and I have to admit that I still enjoy designing them and laying them out. Okay, I’m getting off topic. My apologies! Back to Chris. He was wearing a t-shirt (pictured below) that says ‘Panic Attack’. Not sure if it’s band merch for ‘Panic Attack’ but that’s besides the point.
DISCLAIMER: No, I don’t celebrate Halloween. I know someone’s bound to see the title of his tutorial and assume I celebrate Halloween because I watched his video about repeat patterns that had to do with Halloween.
Okay, moving on. I was watching the video so intently that I didn't even notice what his T-shirt said until about three-quarters of the way through, and it dawned on me that the level of anxiety that many, many people in the Body of Christ are experiencing these days is through the roof, off the charts, exponential, out of this world-you get the idea. And so a thought came to me - I should write an article about what seems to be the prevailing atmosphere regarding people's attitudes, feelings and emotions about the days and times we are living in and experiencing right now. A period of time I'd call 'PANIC ATTACK!’
JUST A FEW MORE DAYS AND IT’LL ALL BE OVER, RIGHT?
Let me be blunt by saying that I hate (yes, hate) election season—especially a national election. We no sooner “elect” an individual to assume the highest office of the land and it seems like the election cycle starts all over again. No break. A vicious, never ending, fallacy filled, name calling, character assassination, lie infested campaign cycle that is worse than a Chinese water torture. We have to sit and sift through mountains of opinions and endless commentaries by everyone ranging from CNN to FOX and everyone in between—and even YouTube and Rumble—with the never ending barrage of ‘he’ said, ‘she’ said, ‘they’ said. And, as if that wasn’t enough, the endless surge of political campaign ads that try and make their opponent look as evil as they possibly can.
Then the endorsements begin. Who endorsed who? Why did they? What union endorsed who, or, didn’t. Then there’s the ever so “accurate polls”. Yeah, those. The ones that say one number on this network and a completely different number on the competitors network. Who should you believe? What should you believe? And, as if that wasn’t enough, on top of all of this, you now have the church entering the political arena as if they were some sort of “Christian” NGO lobbying for one side or the other. Yeah, you know exactly what I’m talking about. So many voices, opinions and influences trying to vie for your attention and especially your vote.
The incessant political barrage is supposed to help each of us make what they call “informed” decisions as to who is “best” for our country. But you find yourself more confused now than ever before, right? You have no idea what’s up and what’s down. Who’s on first? What’s on second"? Where’s on third? Or at least I think that’s how it went.
“It’s okay” you say, “November 5th is right around the corner and it will all be over, whew!” I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, it looks like we won’t know for days. “NO!” you exclaim with panic in your voice. Oh yeah, and there’s also the fact that there might be a slight wrinkle, even if the “preferred” candidate gets “elected”. Yeah, um, there’s rumors that should Republicans lose the House and Democrats retain control of the Senate, they’ll try and invoke the 14th amendment-article 3 of the Constitution that states that any person that engaged in “insurrection” is not fit to hold office.
Sadly, it doesn’t end there. If you’d like a more in-depth take on all of the possibilities, I’ll let you check out this video by Glenn Beck and his guest for further clarification.
WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS IT?
If you haven’t yet noticed, there’s much talk about the issues at hand as well as the contrast between both candidates, not only in the media and social media, but, within many of America’s churches. You just can’t get away from it! No joke.
It’s as if we’ve been enveloped by a thick fog that never dissipates. If anything, it grows denser with each passing day and even hour. And the one place you’d expect to find rest and respite from all the noise would be the house of God. Yet it’s illusive.
Now I know that there are those that might accuse me of promoting detachment from civic engagement. Or, there might be some that would tag me as one who’s discouraging the body of Christ from becoming involved in politics. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. I am a firm believer that Christians (real ones) should get involved in politics only if that’s the calling the Lord has placed on their lives—not for selfish and political gain—which is often is the case.
If the church had been faithful (for the most part) to the Lord and His calling for her, we would have a very different looking political scene. Not to say that our country would look drastically different as well. There’s no denying that. However, the sad fact is that’s not been the case, and, it hasn’t been for many decades now. This is what Proverbs 14:34 says:
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach (shame or disgrace) to any people.” (NKJV)
Has the church been faithful to her calling throughout our time here in America? Let me see if I can be more direct, so, I’ll pose two questions: Is it the pastors responsibility to teach their congregation about politics & policy from the pulpit? Shouldn’t the congregation already know better! You would imagine. And, why did the church wait until the wheels fell off the proverbial wagon to try and “fix” things spiritually, morally & politically?
The fight against evil is nothing new. There’s always been pushback against the things of God, His standards and against God Himself. The enemy has always met the work of God with resistance and opposition all throughout history. Think about it. At the onset of the church, there was already opposition (read the book of Acts). How about we go farther back? How about all the way back to the garden of Eden? There was a “campaign” already brewing. The campaign of the ages. Satan began His effort of trying to thwart Gods work not only by tempting Adam & Eve, but by questioning and twisting God’s Word and asking them “did God really say?”. And it’s been downhill ever since. Things got so bad in the centuries to come that the Word tells us only 1 man and his family were spared from Gods judgment—Noah.
PANIC ATTACK!
Bottom line is that we have much panic within the body of Christ these days. Yet the “panic” I’m seeing is due to political reasons and not spiritual ones. There’s much anxiety and fear over who's gonna get elected and become the new “leader” of America and who might not. Let’s be honest, there’s no one candidate that’s perfect, ever. We go to the polls and vote for who we think most closely keeps to our biblical beliefs and/or standards. Unfortunately, for the past few decades, we’ve been left with less than ideal candidates to say the least. Why is that? I believe it shows that man is inherently sinful and when presented the opportunity to compromise their beliefs for power, position and possessions—as the classic Benny Hester song goes—most will. God already knows who’s gonna be the next elected leader of America. But, does that mean we do nothing about it. Not at all!
Which is “panicking” our hearts more? Who might win the election, or, the fact that we, as the body of Christ have sinned gravely against God Almighty. We’ve made a mockery of His bride—by and large. The body of Christ has exchanged the truths of His Word for the lies of the world. We’ve created a type of ‘smorgasbord’ of Christianity. Essentially, just pick what you like about it, the “good” stuff and run with it. We’ve created an extremely anemic version of what should be Biblical Christianity. So what are we left with? An extremely anemic body of Christ who has, throughout the past few decades, maybe even the past century, compromised Biblical values in exchange for affluent living, status, power, positions and possessions.
Again, we fret about the presidency and this law or that law, but, we don't have the same fervor and ‘spiritual panic’ over our blatant sin against His Word and His Holy name. Why aren’t our hearts rending over it? We seem to be more anxious and fearful about the condition of our country, than the condition of the body of Christ. The fear of the Lord seems to be a thing of the past. Why is that? King Solomon had much to say about this in the book of Proverbs. Look at Proverbs 9:10-11, this is what it says:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you.” (NKJV)
There’s a shortage of wisdom these days. Maybe we need to come to the realization that we’ve been—for far too long now—putting our trust and focus on fallible men, whether in the church or in politics. They’ve been elevated to an almost ‘godlike’ status. We look to them in hopes that they might be able to lead us in becoming more spiritual, profitable, wealthier and healthier.
HUMOROUS SIDE NOTE. WELL, AT LEAST I THOUGHT SO: I heard a comedian years ago break down the word Politics: POLI in greek means many, and the word tic(k) means ‘blood sucking parasites’. Essentially many blood sucking parasites. As funny as that may be, there's quite a bit of truth to that.
So, let me close with this. Should you go vote? Short answer is yes. When you vote, you must remember that many men and women not only served our country, but gave their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today—and voting is one of them. God has blessed us with the privilege to live in a country where we have freedom to vote—or not.
Much like sharing the gospel, we don’t know who’s gonna be saved and who’s not, but despite the results, we do it anyways. In like manner, though we may not know who’s gonna win the election, we vote and leave the results up to God.
In the end, the question I leave you with is as follows: Are you having a “panic attack” over who might win the election? Are you more consumed with politics and polls rather than consuming the Word of God? Do you talk more about the election and politics rather than Jesus Christ? Don’t get me wrong, staying informed is one thing, but, panicking over the possibilities denies God His rightful place.
Here’s a short devotional I just read by Dr. David Jeremiah titled ‘Sovereign’, It encouraged me greatly and I hope it does the same for you. May it aide in easing any ‘panic’, fear or anxiety you may be experiencing.
‘SOVEREIGN’
“He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand” —Daniel 4:35b (NKJV)
The Sovereignty of God is the title of a book by scholar Arthur Pink, who laments that many Christians overlook the concept of God's sovereignty. Pink argues that while this theme was once expounded in the pulpit, now it's like a phrase borrowed from a dead language. "Alas!" he wrote, "that the doctrine which is the key to history; the interpreter of Providence, the warp and woof of Scripture, and the foundation of Christian theology, should be so sadly neglected." The word sovereign means, "supreme ruler"— one who reigns over all. When we speak of the sovercignty of God, we're referring to His absolute control over everything from the tides of history to the details of our days. The Most High rules over heaven and earth, over the large and the small. Psalm 115:3 says, "Our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases." God is in control, and everything plays out according to His ultimate plan. When we grasp the significance of the sovereignty of God, our cares are lessened, our hearts are calmed, our spirits are lifted, and our days are brightet.1
To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty.... No one can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will? —Arthur W. Pink, in The Sovereignty of God2
Don’t Panic. He’s got this, He’s sovereign and Almighty! It’s all going according to His perfect prophetic plan. Get out and share Jesus and…
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Jeremiah, David. Perhaps Today (San Diego: CA, Turning Point For God, 2019) pp. 88–89.
A. W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God (Dallas: TX, Gideon House Books, 2016).
'Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven' pretty much says it all. Almighty God has a plan, & that alone is enough for me.