Faith To Stand

Introduction - The Time of Trouble is Coming

Mark 13:19-20  "For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days." "The tempest is coming, and we must get ready for its fury by having repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord will arise to shake terribly the earth. We shall see troubles on all sides. Thousands of ships will be hurled into the depths of the sea. Navies will go down, and human lives will be sacrificed by millions. Fires will break out unexpectedly, and no human effort will be able to quench them. The palaces of earth will be swept away in the fury of the flames. Disasters by rail wi11 become more and more frequent; confusion, collision, and death without a moment's warning will occur on the great lines of travel. The end is near, probation is closing. Oh, let us seek God while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near!" MYP 89, 90.

"We who know the truth should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise." 8T 28; 7BC 911.

Luke 18:8 " Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"

I believe with all my heart that Jesus will come very soon. Unless something tragic happens in your life very shortly, then you will be here to see the most incredible event in human history.  You will be here to see Jesus return in all His glory, with the whole host of heavenly angels.  And if that is true, you will also be here for the tribulation that precedes His return.  My question for you is, "Will you have the faith to stand through that great tribulation?"

Faith & The Gospel

What exactly is faith, anyway?  We certainly talk a lot about it.  And rightly we should.  The Bible also has a lot to say about faith.  I would like to suggest that the whole Bible is a story of a faith relationship between a people and their God, even though at times the faith of the people was somewhat weak.  In fact faith is a crucial element of the Gospel message.  As such, it is an absolutely vital part of the plan for our salvation.  Your salvation and mine. If someone asked you, "What is the Gospel?" what would you say?  Have you ever really thought about it.  The Gospel is our message to the world.  It is our great commission from Jesus.  What would you say the Gospel is?  I think that Paul captured the very essence of the Gospel in Ephesians 2:8-9.  Paul says,

Eph 2:8-9  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest any man should boast.

Based partly on that passage, I have constructed for myself an outline of the Gospel that I use to guide my witnessing efforts.  I believe that this simple outline encompasses the main elements of the Gospel message.  My outline is very simply this:

Salvation, from the guilt, power, and presence of Sin, by Grace, through Faith, in Jesus.
Salvation, from Sin, by Grace, through Faith, in Jesus.

Of course, we have the sin part of that down pretty well.  But of the rest of the Gospel message - Salvation, by Grace, through Faith, in Jesus - faith is the only part that we have an active role in.  Our salvation rests wholly in the merits of Jesus blood applied on our behalf.  Grace is, by definition, God's unmerited favor toward us.  Faith is the only part of the plan of salvation that we participate in.  I believe it is vitally important that we understand what faith is.

What Faith Is Not!

So, what is faith?  Actually, I believe that we should start by identifying what faith is not.  I'll steal an illustration from Morris Venden.  A little town in Texas was experiencing a terrible drought.  Actually, the way things are going in Texas right now, this might not be such a far-fetched story.  Anyway, the drought was so bad that the whole town came together to pray for rain.  One little girl brought an umbrella to the prayer meeting.  And sure enough, in the middle of the meeting, it began to rain.  Many people said that it rained because the little girl had enough faith to bring the umbrella.  But my question to you is, "Did it rain because that little girl brought an umbrella, or did she bring an umbrella because she knew it was going to rain?" There is a big movement among our brothers and sisters in different denominations called the "Word of Faith Movement."  These people believe that faith is a belief that you can gin up within yourself through discipline.  They think that if you can believe hard enough, you can cause that belief to become a reality.  You can be healed from your illnesses if you only have enough faith.  You can have better relationships if you only have enough faith.  If you have enough faith, you can be successful in your business, in your marriage, and in your church.  All the gifts of God are at your disposal, if you will just have enough faith to receive them.

Faith is not a force that we use.  It is not a tool at our disposal to get us the things we long for.  It is not an act of will that we can channel to our own ends.  Look again at how Paul describes faith to the Ephesians in chapter 2:8.  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God…"  Faith is not an act of human will, it is a gift from God.  In Romans 12:3, Paul tells us that God gave to each person a measure of faith.  That seed of faith is in each and every person.  We also see in Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

What Faith Is!

So once again we are back to our question, "What is faith?"  Does anyone here know where to look for the Biblical definition of faith?  We usually jump straight to Hebrews chapter 11 - the great faith chapter of the Bible - and then use verse 1 as our definition. {{{"

Heb 11:1  "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (KJV)

Okay.  There is our definition of faith.  But what exactly does that mean?  "The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  Fortunately, God doesn't just leave us with that.  He goes on through the whole chapter to expound on that thought and to give a whole list of examples of people who had great faith.  There is a verse in Hebrews chapter 11 that gives a much more practical definition of faith.  As we look at this verse, I hope that you will begin to see that faith is not a mysterious force.  The concept of faith is really very simple.  Look at Hebrews 11: 6.

Heb 11:6  "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (NKJ)

I think that this verse captures the two essential elements of faith - belief and trust.  Faith is really a very simple thing.  Faith is belief and trust in God.  To have faith, we must believe that God is - that He exists -  and we must trust in His promises.  You see, faith implies relationship.  Faith simply characterizes the kind of relationship that we have with God.

God Is!

I want to put this in perspective for you.  What does it mean to believe that God is?  Well first, it means simply acknowledging that He exists.  But is goes much farther than that.  To acknowledge God means also to acknowledge all the aspects of His nature and His character.  Sometimes, in the midst of our personal trials, we seem to forget Who we are dealing with here.  We're talking about the Almighty God.  The Creator of the universe.  The God who spoke and our world came into being.  We are talking about the God that created every facet of our planet, with the flowers and trees, the fruits and vegetables, the animals, fish, and birds to exist in a perfect, delicate balance in which every element is dependent on every other for its survival.  We are talking about the God who created a world so intricate in its detail that physicists have still not been able to accurately model the hydrogen atom, yet so robust that it could withstand the devastating effects of 6000 years of sin and still retain the beauty of sunsets.  We are talking about the God who destroyed the world with a flood; the God who brought plagues upon Egypt and delivered His people from ; the God who parted the Red Sea, Who rained fire down on Sodom and Gommorah; Who stilled the stormy seas when the disciples were tossed about in a little boat; and who raised Lazarus from the dead. Now I want you to think about that God, and then I want you to look at the worst problems in your life.  Is there anyone here who has a problem so big that God can't handle it?…I didn't think so.  I'm glad that we sing songs like "Our God is an Awesome God" and "How Great Thou Art" to remind us just how powerful our God is.  You know that is a big part of why we keep the Sabbath.  The Sabbath is a memorial to our Creator God.  As we observe the Sabbath each week, we should always be reminded of Who God is.

Trust

But believing in God is only half of the story.  We also have to learn to trust in God.  We have to trust what God says in His word.  We have to learn to trust that God loves us individually.  We have to learn to trust that God hears every single prayer we utter.  We have to learn to trust that God answers every prayer.  And we have to learn to trust God's intentions for our lives - that the answers He provides are the ones that are truly for our own good.  We have to learn to trust God when He says, "All things work to the good for those who love Me and are called according to My purpose."  We have to learn to trust the God who loved us so much that He was willing to give up His own Son - to bear the punishment we deserved - in order to reconcile us to Himself.  We have to learn to trust that, amid the multiplied daily disasters of this world, that God is love and that God is in control. I want to show you how important that these two aspects of faith - belief and trust - work together.  Together they work to form the basis of a relationship that we can only have with God.  Now, I love Mischelle very much.  As a matter of fact, I love her more than anything in this whole world.  And I know that as possibly the last true Southern bell, Mischelle absolutely adores the old white Southern plantation houses with the huge columns on the front.  And loving Mischelle as I do, I could look her in the eyes, and with the deepest sincerity of heart, promise her, "I will get you a house like that of your own, one day."  But as much as Mischelle loves me, she cannot have faith in me or my promise.  She can trust my intentions - but she cannot believe in my ability to live up to my promise.

We are all like that.  Even if our intentions are absolutely pure - and I would tend to doubt that they always are - we do not have the power to guarantee the results of our promises.  In short, we are not God.  Take note of this!  If you place your faith in the people or the things of this world, eventually they will fail you.  God is the only One who is absolutely trustworthy and who has the power to fulfill His promises.  Place your faith in God!

Three Levels of Faith

There are also levels of faith - and God deals with us where we are in our faith relationship with Him.  The first level of faith is simply acknowledging that God exists.  I believe that God often answers the prayers of people who pray to Him for the first time - regardless of how selfish the request may be.  When little Billy looks up to the sky and says, "God, I don't know if You are really up there, but if you are, could You please help me find my lost puppy?" - God longs to answer such prayers.  God needs to reinforce this belief.  I like to call this the "if" level of faith.  I will believe in you God if you answer my prayers. Then we have the "because" level of faith.  Do you remember when you were a new Christian?  You had just committed your life to God and were amazed at the miracles He was working in your life.  You prayed for a little extra money to send home to your parents and you got a raise at work the next day.  You prayed to find a girl to love, and the next day at church you met the lady of your dreams.  You talk to God and He "does exceeding abundantly beyond all that you ask or think."  You might say, "God, I have faith in You because You answer my prayers."

What about now?  Have you lost that initial burning in your relationship with God.  Do you keep begging God for your children to come back to church?  Do you keep praying for your best friend to be healed, but the healing doesn't come?  Do you keep longing for the courage to share your love of Jesus with your next door neighbor, but you keep losing heart?  Has it been so long since God answered "yes" that you have begun to doubt whether He even listens at all?…God is trying to lead you to the "even though" level of faith…If this is true in your life, then pray in your heart with me right now, "Lord, I love you and I trust you even though you don't always answer my prayers the way I would like You to."

How?

How do we move from one level of faith to the next?  First of all we remember from Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith.  And also we consider Ecclesiastes 3:11 - "He makes all things beautiful in His time."  And finally we recognize our part in this walk of faith.  Consider this:  just before the service begins, a total stranger walks through the church door and asks you to borrow your car for about an hour.  Would you hand over your car keys to him?  What if Pastor Chilson made the same request?  Would you give him your keys?  What is the difference in these two situations?  The difference is that you know Pastor Chilson, so you trust him more.  You cannot trust someone you do not know.  You cannot trust God unless you get to know Him.  How do you get to know God?  By spending time with him in Bible study, in prayer, and in acts of Christian service.  You will hear me say it over and over again.  Your devotional life is the key to your relationship with God.  To know Him is to love Him.  You have to spend time with Him - one on one - to get to know Him.  I cannot emphasize that enough.  I thank my brother Lee Wells for reminding us of that fact every week in Sabbath School during his Tips For Christian Living time. We will take a look a bit later at how God helps our faith to grow.  But first, I want to show you some people in the Bible who were at these three different levels of faith.  The if level, the because of level, and the even though level.

Examples Of Faith

Turn with me in your bibles to Luke 8:43-48 {{{"

Luke 8:43-48  And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him, and touched the fringe of His cloak; and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who is the one who touched Me?" And while they were all denying it, Peter said, "Master, the multitudes are crowding and pressing upon You."  But Jesus said, "Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me."  And when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."  (NAS)

We often tell about this woman and her great faith.  The truth is, this woman just barely believed in Who Jesus was.  She was at the end of her rope and was just about willing to try anything to get well.  She was turning to God as a last resort.  How often do we turn to God as a last resort?  We cannot be too hard on this woman.  We can see that she didn't really trust Jesus, or she would have asked Him openly for help.  But she was ceremonially unclean because of her hemorrhage and did not trust that Jesus would listen to her pleas for help.  So, instead, she snuck close to Him and touched Him.  And despite her fears, and her lack of trust in Him, Jesus not only healed her ailment, but he chose to praise for her faith in Him.  I believe that Jesus did this in order to strengthen the little amount of faith that she did have.  In essence, He was saying to her, "You were right to believe in Who I am, but I want you to know that you can trust Me as well."

Another example.  Turn with me to Matthew 8:5-10.

Matt 8:5-10  And when He had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, entreating Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering great pain."  And He said to him, "I will come and heal him."  But the centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.  "For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does {it}"   Now when Jesus heard {this,} He marveled, and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel." (NAS) }}}

This centurion not only believed in Jesus' ability to heal his servant, but he also trusted Jesus to keep his word.  Jesus gives him great praise because of his faith - his belief and trust in Him.  But here again we see someone coming to Jesus asking for help and expecting certain results.  He had undoubtedly heard about or even seen Jesus' many other miracles and came to Him for help.  But you still do not see him asking Jesus, "Lord, what is your will for my life?  What can I do to serve you?"  He trusted Jesus word in regard to his servant's health, but he didn't trust Jesus' intentions for his own life.  Yet Jesus accepted him where he was and praised him for his faith.

One reason that Jesus praised the faith of both of these individuals is because their faith moved them to action.  Faith is an action word.  Faith in Jesus always leads to acts of righteousness.  James tells us, "But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works…For just as the body without {the} spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." James 2:18, 26.

Finally, I would like to share with you one of the most dramatic proclamations of faith in the Bible.  Turn with me to Daniel Chapter 3.  In chapter 2 of Daniel, God used a dream of a statue to show King Nebuchadnezzar what the future held.  The statue was made of four different metals representing a succession of kingdoms after his.  King Nebuchadnezzar didn't like God's plan, so he decided to force his plan upon the world.  He erected a huge golden statue, representing his own kingdom that would never be overthrown, and forced everyone to bow down before it.  Anyone who refused to bow down would be thrown into a fiery furnace.  But Daniel's three friends, Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego, worshipped the God of heaven and knew the second commandment that prohibited idolotry.  They refused to bow down even after King Nebuchadnezzar confronted them himself.  He was so enraged at their defiance that he had the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual.  Listen to how the three boys responded to the king's threats.

Dan 3:16-18  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."  (NIV)

Listen to that proclamation of faith.  "Our God is able to save us, but even if He does not, we will not deny Him."  That is the greatest expression of faith.  That is the kind of faith that I want to have.  How about you?

Guideposts Story

Now I want to share with you a modern day story of faith that is every bit as forceful as the story of the three Hebrew boys.  It is the story of Janice Archer Cruse that appeared in Guideposts in August of 1995.  Janice had lived a picture perfect life.
  {{{"

She says,  "I had never challenged God's love - or doubted His presence.  I had built a career on that bedrock foundation. I had grown up warbling my way through old-time gospel songs and traditional hymns at the churches my father pastored in California. During the summer of my sixteenth year, I teamed up with two of my brothers to form a trio--The Archers. Our contemporary-style Christian music soon catapulted us to concerts at the White House and a Grammy for our part on the album The Lord's Prayer. "Then, when I met John, I knew instantly that he would be the father of my children. A year and a day later, John and I married. But the constant strain of life on the road frayed the edges of our marriage. I loved my music, but I loved John even more. So at the peak of my career I stepped away from it all and devoted myself to
homemaking, hoping that it would include children."

Janice did get pregnant - with twins. But the double blessing turned tragic when the two baby boys were born prematurely at only 25 weeks old.  One was 1lb 5oz, and the other was 1lb 9oz.  Angrily, Janice plead to God, "Where are you now?  Don't you care that my babies are dying?"  They didn't even name them for several days because they were afraid that they would not survive.  But through God's grace and the miracles of modern medicine, they grew steadily stronger for 42 days.  Then, just when she was about to regain hope, the doctor approached them with the news that the boys had taken a dramatic turn for the worse.  He gave them a week to survive.  Janice waffled between denial and anger.
 

"Lord, please listen.  I'll do anything!" I bargained desperately."I promise to tell everyone I meet about the miracles You've performed.  I will raise the boys to love and serve you.  I'll give up anything You tell me to.  Just please, God, please let them live!"
 "Silence.  In its awful void, I could only sob.  Then in the midst of the weeping, I heard what sounded like a voice. Not an out-loud voice, but a very real one nevertheless. Janice, it said, what if they die?
"I shot a glance at John. His head was still buried in his hands. Yet a voice had called me by name. Can it be God? I wondered.
"What if they die? the voice repeated. And in the presence of that gentle but persistent voice I began to reevaluate the way I thought about God. I had always believed that he answered prayer. Yet in my most desperate moment there was only silence. I believed God worked miracles. But my circumstances seemed no different than those of non-believers.
      "After all my tortured questions, an awful truth hit hard. Could it be that I only loved God for what he could do for me? I stared at John's bowed head. Dear, faithful John--God's answer to a long-ago prayer. I began to think about all my blessings over the years--a nurturing family, my health, a successful career - an amazing stream of goodness that I dared not say I deserved! Suddenly I was aware that I stood in the presence of a gracious God--one who had just called me by name. And I marveled at his unfathomable love, which had now enabled the flicker of my tiny faith to flame again. !!  "'Father,' I prayed, 'whether I bury my babies or bring them home, I choose always to love and serve you.  Please do not leave me or forsake me.'  Deep inside, I knew He never would."

How God Builds Our Faith

Isn't it good to know that that kind of faith can exist in our world today?  Incidentally, God did work a miracle and save her boys.  They are both strong and healthy today.  And, out of her unconditional love for her God, Janice shares her story with everyone who will listen.  But this is not just a story about a remarkable faith in God; it also gives us a glimpse at how God helps us to grow from one level of faith to the next.  The answer is in our trials. We know that God is able to solve any problem that comes our way.  But what we sometimes forget is that God is not only all-powerful, but he is also all-knowing.  He can look ahead in time to see the outcome of our decisions.  And so sometimes He says no to what we ask of Him.  This is where we really have to let go and trust God.  We have to really believe that "All things work to the good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes." Romans 8:28.

God very often chooses not to deliver us out of our trials, but to carry us through them.  God didn't deliver Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego out of the fiery furnace, he carried them through it.

Dan 3:24-27 says, "Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king."  He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of god."… So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.  (NIV)

Jesus went through the fiery furnace with them.  The only thing that was burned was the ropes that bound them.

Jesus allows our trials in order to build our faith.  As a matter of fact, if your trials age getting worse and worse, it is good news.  God promises us in His word that He "will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it." - 1 Cor 10:13.  The way of escape is always Faith in Jesus.  If God is allowing your trials to get worse, it is because He reads the faith in your heart and knows that you can handle it through Jesus.

Faith is like a muscle - if you don't use it, you lose it.  But if you exercise it, it gets stronger.  Jesus admonishes us over and over again in scripture to accept our trials with joy and to trust in Him to carry us through.

Rom 5:3-5 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (NKJ)

James 1:2-4  Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have {its} perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  (NAS)

2 Cor 4:17-18  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,  while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.  (NAS)

There is the answer to the definition of faith that we read in Hebrews 11:1, "For faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  The things which are not seen are eternal, and we become heirs of eternal things through our momentary light afflictions.

Please do not make this mistake.  Do not lose sight of God in your trials.  We know that God could deliver us from our trials.  If He chooses not to, it must be for our own good.  Learn to expect blessing out of your trials.  Learn to search out the good in the bad.  Learn to rely on God's answer - especially when it is "no".  Learn not to pray for God to relieve your suffering.  Pray instead that He will open your eyes to the blessing He has made possible by allowing the trials.

The Great Tribulation

And this brings us to the answer to my very first question.  Do you have the faith to stand through the great tribulation? Maybe we are asking the wrong question.  You see, God does not allow tribulation in order to test our faith; He allows it in order to build our faith.  This is true of the great tribulation as well.  Adventists have long understood that there will be a small tribulation or "shaking" just before the close of probation.  The seven last plagues, which cause the great tribulation, come after probation closes.

Let me put it another way.  Right now there appear to be three camps.  A few people are in God's camp.  A few are in Satan's camp.  The vast majority are riding the fence in the middle.  Very shortly, God is going to shake the fence and cause the people to jump off to one side or the other.  That is the little time of trouble.  When the very last person jumps off the fence, probation will close.  Then God will punish the wicked by pouring out the seven last plagues, which Revelation 15:1 tells us "are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished."

Now, the righteous are still on the earth at this point, because Jesus has not yet come.  Why doesn't God deliver His people before He punishes the wicked?  For the same reason that He didn't deliver the Hebrew boys out of the fiery furnace.  The seven last plagues fall only on the wicked, not the righteous.  But the plagues will enrage the wicked against the righteous.  What is punishment to the wicked will be a trial of faith for the righteous.  To the wicked it is the great tribulation.  To the righteous it is the "time of Jacob's trouble."

Please do not miss this point.  The great tribulation comes after the close of probation.  After the close of probation, no one will change sides. Rev 22:11 "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still."  No child of God will fail to stand through the great tribulation.  The great tribulation is not a test to see if we have true faith in God.  It is through this tribulation that our faith in Christ is perfected.  It is through this tribulation that our character is refined like pure gold in the refiner's fire.

Rev 7:14-17  "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  "For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne shall spread His tabernacle over them.  "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of the water of life; and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes." (NAS)

Please do not fear the great tribulation.  God is not seeking for opportunities for you to be lost.  Do you know what God would have had to do for all of us to be lost?…ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!  Instead, Jesus came and gave everything He had and everything He was to save us from ourselves.  Seek God now with all your heart.  Spend time with Him in Bible study and prayer every single day.  Seek to know Him better and to trust Him more.  The more that you come to know God, you will see that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Tim 1:7  and  "By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment…There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. I Jn 4:17-18  (NAS)

Most of all look to our Savior's promise amid all the chaos. Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke 21:25-28.  Mark this passage in your Bibles.  Cling to the promise here.  Jesus tells us…

Luke 21:25-28  And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.  And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (KJV)

Even so come Lord Jesus.