How to React to the Israeli War
I am still trying to somehow process the events that happened last Saturday in Israel. What Hamas did to innocent civilians, fathers, mothers, children, and babies is horrifying. The images I have seen are almost impossible to get out of my mind.
With Israel declaring war in response to these attacks, we are now continuing to see more destruction. We are watching as our own government reacts and how the rest of the world is responding to these events.
It’s all over the news. Images of the war and stories being written dominate our social media feeds. It’s hard to know what is true and what is not true.
It’s scary.
FEAR, WORRY, AND ANXIETY
Much of what we are seeing causes fear, worry, and anxiety. We wonder how it might affect us.
There are some reports of Hamas leaders encouraging supporters to attack people all over the world. That’s frightening. We’ve seen terroristic activity and violence in our country before, and it’s easy to worry about the possibility of some kind of attacks on our own soil.
But even if that doesn’t happen, many of us fear how this war might affect our economy. Inflation and other factors have made it difficult already, and it’s hard not to worry about things getting worse as we look to pay our own bills and provide for our families.
On top of all that, with this conflict involving Israel, and with much of what is written in the Bible, there are many people who are wondering about the end times. Those thoughts alone can cripple us and leave many of us trapped in fear.
What are we to think? How are we to react? What are we supposed to do?
2 TIMOTHY 1:7
I believe that what we see the apostle Paul writes in 2 Timothy 1:7 can be extremely helpful to us in times like these.
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.
(2 Timothy 1:7)
If you have placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, then you have been given a new spirit. The Holy Spirit came to dwell in you (Eph. 1:13) and entered into a spiritual union (1 Cor. 6:17) with your spirit, making you a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
The new spirit that you have is one that is not governed by fear! Fear, worry, and anxiety come from the enemy, and you have been ransomed from him.
When you sense the emotion of fear in moments like this, it is the enemy trying to keep you from experiencing your new Life in Christ.
As believers, we do not have to live in fear because of what we see happening in Israel and Gaza or even whatever happens here because of the war.
POWER
The new spirit we have in Christ is one of power! Fear makes us cower, tremble, and freeze. Power keeps us going in the middle of conflict and evil in our midst.
The power that we have been given access to is the power of Jesus. His power allowed Him to heal the blind and the lame, calm the wind and the waves, and even raise Lazarus from the dead.
The power that Hamas and other terrorist groups exercise every now and then might be scary at times and cause destruction in our world, but it has nothing on the kind of power found in Jesus, the Son of God! You have access to His power. It’s part of the new spirit you have in union with Him.
You don’t have to cower in fear and allow these events to paralyze you. You can continue to breathe, move, and live in the power of Jesus.
LOVE
Not only have you been given a spirit of power but also one of love. We are told that God is love (1 John 4:8), and once again, you are in a spiritual union with Him. Your new heart is a heart that loves.
Now that doesn’t mean that you can’t be angry about innocent people being horrifically tortured and murdered. There is a righteous anger that we will carry towards evil in this world.
It does mean that out of your love for people you can pray for those involved in this conflict. You can look for ways to help serve them through financial support, providing supplies needed, or perhaps even going at some point.
Your heart of love can serve people here who are filled with fear, worry, and anxiety because of what is going on. You can point them to Jesus and the hope that can be found and experienced in Him despite the situations and circumstances around the world.
SOUND JUDGMENT
Along with your spirit of power and love, you also have a spirit of sound judgment. A lot of translations say “self-discipline” instead of “sound judgment.” Those translations aren’t necessarily wrong, but the original Greek word that Paul uses here (sophronismos) carries the idea of “thoughtful awareness of what is best, moderation, sensibility.” That sounds like sound judgment to me.
Our spirit of sound judgment will lead us to do what is best in moments of tension and conflict that can lead to fear.
Knowing that watching the news and scrolling through social media to fixate our minds and emotions on the Israeli war can lead us to live in fear, our spirit of sound judgment will lead us to turn those things off at some point!
Sound judgment allows us to keep up with and be aware of what is going on, but to do so in moderation. Sound judgment will even lead us to take precautions and to live wisely in times like this.
However, more so than anything, sound judgment will keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and cause us to trust Him more than anything else.
CONCLUSION
As more continues to unfold with this Israeli War in the Middle East and perhaps even here in our own midst, renew your mind to the truth: 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.
Do not let the enemy cripple you with fear, worry, and anxiety.
Walk in Jesus’ power. Share His love with others. Use sound judgment in making decisions and in what you give your attention to.