I live in a world where a lion is on the loose. There are mangled bodies all around. Pain and heartbreak are to be expected on this planet, but it is never welcome.

When sin entered this world, it wrecked everything. Sin always has consequences and it always impacts others, even innocent parties, kids, families, friends and neighbors. One day God will remove sin from this planet, but until then, we cling to the promise, "greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)Even when we are going through the "valley of the shadow of death," (Psalm 23) we have what we need most, God, and that is enough.

So when we think of what the world needs most, the Bible is clear, it is a living relationship with the living God. It is learning to listen to the Holy Spirit, to receive marching orders from God in the midst of the craziness of life on a sin scarred planet.

We can easily get distracted by the cries of the tyranny of the urgent that scream at us for attention to lesser things.As a pastor, I have to ask, what is the highest priority? Jesus made is clear when he was asked what is most important.

God wants us to seek Him with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength! God wants a personal relationship with you and me. He doesn't promise an easy life, but He does promise to be "with" us. He promises to provide us with His power and His wisdom and His presence in the midst of this crazy world.

I asked my friend who has days to live, what her life verse was and she responded:

How do we eliminate anxiety? Talk to God! God hears and God knows and we are not alone, which leads us to the experience of peace in life.

What Can a Pastor Do?

Create a Healthy Spiritual Environment

Far more important than cleaning up the affects of sin in our world, homelessness, poverty, abuse, divorce etc, is to deal with the root cause, the spiritual cause of this mess. These are all symptoms of the root cause, our lack of a living relationship with the living God, our rebellion against the first and second commandments.

The most important thing I can do for people is to lead them into a personal relationship with God and teach them what it means to listen to  and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. Without this, all the systems and laws and behavior modifications fail to make a difference that we long to see and what God desires.

At the launch of the first church, they had to wait for the Holy Spirit. Even after experiencing Jesus' three years of ministry, hearing His teaching, seeing His example, the followers of Jesus would have failed miserably without the enabling power of the Spirit of God.

So when I come in contact with those who are experiencing the expected disappointments of life on this planet, I'm reminded that the most important thing I can do in the midst of listening and comforting and caring, is to direct people to the one who does all things well, the Good Shepherd.