We Vote for Peace!

November 8, 2022

…To whom can I give warning? Who will listen when I speak? Their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. They scorn the word of the LORD. They don’t want to listen at all. So now I am filled with the LORD’s fury. Yes, I am tired of holding it in! “I will pour out my fury on children playing in the streets and on gatherings of young men, on husbands and wives and on those who are old and gray. Their homes will be turned over to their enemies, as will their fields and their wives. For I will raise my powerful fist against the people of this land,” says the LORD. “From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. From prophets to priests, they are all frauds. They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wounds. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions? Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be brought down when I punish them,” says the LORD - Jeremiah 6:10-15 (NLT)

Well, by the time you peruse this week’s offering from the Housewrights you will have undoubtedly voted and are anxiously awaiting the results. Fingers crossed! Whose side will win? Only God knows. And for that, we are glad.

It proves an off-neglected biblical truth - God is in control. Yes, even when your particular brand of politics finds itself in last place.

So, no need to worry! No need to fret.

And may we add - we don’t think Jesus really cares one way or another which animal is in the Whitehouse…

But, he is concerned and even interceding on your behalf. He is ultimately focused on YOU…after all, it’s why he came and sacrificed himself. YOU are what he is speaking to the Father about - even now.

Which is good news! After all, according to a recent study:

“Forty-two percent of America’s young-but-cynical Generation Z are dealing with a mental health condition, a new survey finds. A range of these issues were largely identified during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis by Harmony Healthcare IT suggests tens of millions of Gen Z young adults started dealing with a mental health problem in the months immediately following the start of the global pandemic in March 2020. The Indiana-based data management company’s survey highlights a staggering percentage of young adults diagnosed with anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the pandemic…Twenty percent of the 1,000 Gen Z study participants say they have a regular therapist, 57 percent take regular medication, and 39 percent attend therapy for mental health issues once a week. Gen Zers are also two times more likely than millennials or Gen Xer to report struggling with daily emotional distress issues. More than two in five of the country’s 68 million Gen Zers have a clinically-diagnosed mental health condition. Nine in 10 Gen Z adults diagnosed with mental health issues say they struggle specifically with anxiety. Moreover, eight in 10 say they fight against frequent bouts of depression. 

(42% of Gen Z diagnosed with a mental health condition, survey reveals (studyfinds.org))

And, those are the next generation of leaders, volunteers, surgeons, first responders, ethics professors, and governmental servants. Do we have your attention now?

It never ceases to amaze us how God’s word has something to say about everything. Listen again to Yahweh’s lament over how Judah attempts to handle its problems: “They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wounds. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace,” Jeremiah 6:14.

If there is one thing our society and culture excel at it is this: superficial treatments.

    We give drugs to get people off drugs.
        We send people off to places for healing and spend unimaginable amounts of money.
            We read books upon books to get help - self help section anyone?
                We vote based on our emotions to try to make us happy.
                    We eat Ice Cream by the quart to ease our pain. (Not all of us)
                        We consume inordinate amounts of caffeine. (All of us)

You get it don’t you? Every single thing we do to “help” ourselves get through the day is nothing more than a worn out unsanitized band aid. It doesn’t really help.

The people of God believe in and serve a God of peace. He speaks peace. He is peace. Why are we not focused on that? Why are we not shouting it from the mountain tops? Why are we not whispering it to our hurting neighbors? Why are we not voting for it?

After all - isn’t Jesus - who we claim to love and follow - the Prince of Peace? Doesn’t he promise us his peace as we love God and others? And certainly, Paul understood this when he wrote to the fellowship at Philippi - "…be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 

We vote for peace…