Wake Up, Look Up

Hello, everyone. Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch. And in today's episode, we are throwing it back. This is something fun we're doing this summer where WULU, now being a year old, we're going back to some of our most popular episodes.

Of course, when I say popular, I mean lots of downloads, lots of views, but also lots of feedback. We're listening to some of those comments and asking, hey. Would we still say the same thing today that we said then? And in this episode, we're talking about global tragedy. What should we do when we can do nothing?

And this episode was about, fifty thousand children who had died in Gaza unable to get the relief they needed and as a product of the violence there. Of course, there was a particular time over the last year where the violence in Gaza was extreme. And, really, the situation there is tough even today. And the question was, in a time period where we have access to more information than we have ever had, where Facebook and Twitter and TikTok and Instagram are constantly bombarding us with all that is happening in the world. What should we do with all this knowledge we have about different global tragedies?

How should we engage? How should we feel? And, actually, we springboarded from the event in Gaza to a psychologist who told us what we were experiencing was a phenomenon called empathetic distress. It was the condition that comes from knowing what's going on in the world, being sad about it, but feeling entirely incapable of actually doing anything about it. After all, if my roof is leaking, I can aim at that.

If my daughter had a bad day, I can try to aim at that. But if fifty thousand kids are dead in Gaza, what am I supposed to do about that? Well, as we said, almost a year ago in that episode, the the con Christian response to this needs to be a response of prayer. More information coming in should remind us that while we are the people of God, we are not God. I can't even imagine God's ability to know all that is going on in the world, and number one, not be overwhelmed by it.

I mean, I know very little, really, of what's going on in the world, and oftentimes, I don't know what to do with it. I'm devastated by it. God knows everything. By the way, he doesn't just know what's in the news. He knows the things we don't even know about yet.

He knows what's coming. He knows the dark and scary things that are happening that will never come to light. But not only is he not overwhelmed by it, but he is actually able to process it. And prayer is a way of going to God and saying, God, I don't know what to do with this. I'm not built for this, but you are.

The first reason I go to God in prayer in times of global tragedy is because I need to deal with my own finiteness in face of God's infinitude. I need to realize that I'm just a man. That's a good place to be. That humility posture is gonna serve me well in every area of my life and in every conversation with God. I I go to God in times of global tragedy the way a four year old goes to his dad, looking for some safety and security, just wanting to make sure someone is paying attention and someone bigger than me is getting involved.

And, of course, that's the second reason we go to God in prayer. It isn't just to remind ourselves that I don't know what's what to do with what's going on in the world, and he does, but it is to ask him to move. Now I say this all the time on this podcast. I'm a big believer in the John Calvin quote, prayer is not about changing God, it's about changing me. When I go to God with the situation in Gaza, it isn't like he didn't care about it, but I've made a compelling argument and now he does.

Every single person in that region and on this planet is made in God's image, and he loves them more than I could ever love them. So I'm not convincing God to love them. I'm not convincing God to get involved. What I'm doing is reminding myself that there is a reason to hope. That there is a God who's on the move.

That there is a God who's active in our world. When I say to God, I know you know what's going on in Gaza or anywhere else, would you do something, God? Would you act? Would you get involved? I'm reorienting my heart and mind to the idea that the world is broken, but there is a God who can put it back together.

In some ways, I'm going to Jesus with his words echoing in my head. Behold, I'm making all things new and I'm telling him why not start today and why not start in Gaza. And the end product of that is some hope and comfort that he is doing it, but it's also a reminder that he wants to do it in Gaza and he wants to do it in me. Global tragedy is an invitation not just to go to God, but asking him to get involved in what's happening in the world. It's to go to God and remember if the world is broken, it's because I am broken.

And if the world needs God to move, so do I. Perhaps a church full of people going to God in the face of global tragedy would be a church full of people asking God to deal with the lower t tragedies that are happening in my own heart and in my own head. I don't mean we shouldn't vote. I don't mean we shouldn't give. I don't mean we shouldn't get involved.

But what I do mean is before we do any of those things, and our confidence in more than any of those things is in going to a god who cares, going to a god who can, and asking him for help. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Pastor Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!