I don’t usually comment on world events, but this week’s Five Minute Friday prompt — WEARY — and the events of Friday in Paris directed by thoughts for the exercise today (Saturday, of course). So I’ll be joining the legion of writers at Kate’s place (http://katemotaung.com/2015/11/12/five-minute-friday-weary/) to share our thoughts on the word  … and I encourage you visit the site as well for both pre- and post-Paris thoughts on the topical word.

The timer is set for five minutes, so let’s GO …

The events of the past day … weeks … years have left me weary. I’m sure many of you, too, have this sense of heaviness as we witness almost in real time the events unfolding before our very eyes in Paris. But it’s also the earthquake in Japan… the death and destruction around the world  … the desperation of oh so many in our own country … the devaluation of life … the rampant violence … the disintegration of our world.

As Christians  it’s easy to look  up and say, “Okay, Lord, Your time is here. Let’s get the ball rolling.”

There are two things fundamentally wrong with that thinking. Or at least that’s my opinion.

It’s not our job to tell God what to do or when to do it. It’s our job to be ready … for anything.

That’ doesn’t mean we’re aloof or inattentive. It means our house is in order. It …. STOP

… means knowing our final destination is not the ground. It means we step into each new day looking at the benevolence of God, not the evil of the world.

My heart aches for the people in Paris … and Japan … and wherever gloom and doom has reared it’s ugly head. My heart aches for my personal losses over the past few years — and yours.  My heart aches whenever I hear of any calamity.

But,  we weren’t created to focus on negatives. We do, but that’s not why we were created. We were created to share in the glory of God.

Sure, we all have our deserts. There are times when we feel we are being abandoned by God.  There are times we have to jump into the arms of Jesus and be carried.

But look around. Listen to the children laughing. Watch the sun rise or set or a star-studded sky. Visit the ocean and watch the waves miraculously lap onto shore. Feel the crispness of fall in the air. Taste life. Touch and smell a flower. That should be our focus.

Yeah, these are scary times — but only if we let them be. Turn off the news. Limit your time (and always verify) on Facebook. Don’t get sucked into the apocalypse mongering rhetoric.

I just read a reflection in my study of Joel that resonated. Our times do not interpret the Bible. Rather, the Bible interprets our times. Remember God works on God’s infinite time … not ours.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: I may not be where I want to be but I’m thankful for not being where I used to be.