One of my favorite weekly activities is doing Pilates. For me, it’s 45 minutes, three days a week, of peaceful refreshment. While I’m in class with six to seven other people, the exercises are known, the pace steady, and the rhythm comforting. The room is quiet except for the hum of the easy-listening music playing in the background and the occasional instructions from the teacher.
It’s been a pleasure to get to know the men and women in my classes, and they are quick to let me know when they’ve read my latest article.
Recently, one of these ladies stopped me in the parking lot after class, and with a concerned look on her face, she asked, “Is the world going to be all right?”
Is the world going to be all right?
She mentioned a series of current events, concern for her grandkids, and her sadness with all the hate in the world right now. And she wondered, as a spiritual person, did I think the world was going to be okay?
The words to an old African American spiritual came to mind. You might remember it:
He’s got the whole world in his hands.
He’s got the whole world in his hands.
He’s got the whole world in his hands.
He’s got the whole world in his hands.
The verses continue with “He’s got the little, tiny baby in his hands …, He’s got you and me, brother, in his hands …, He’s got everybody here in his hands …”
So I shared with her this simple truth: Yes, the world is going to be all right. God cares about us and the world he created more than we ever could, and he’s holding the whole thing in his hands. He’s got us.
I figured that if this was the question on her heart, she probably wasn’t the only one.
I’ve shared Hebrews 12:28 before. It says, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe.” This verse brings me peace and strength when the world seems chaotic and out of control, so I want to restate it in my own words:
“Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakeable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God.”
Author and spiritual director James Bryan Smith puts it this way; “You are the one in whom Christ delights and dwells. You live in the strong and unshakeable Kingdom of God. His Kingdom is not in trouble, and neither are you.”
For those who are followers of Jesus Christ, the Bible gives us unbelievably good news. When we have responded to God’s initiative to have a relationship with us, it is no longer us who live, but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20). In other words, it’s no longer me, but Jesus in me. He is here holding us and protecting us from all that is shaking around us. The world is not in trouble, and neither are we.
I hope this truth quiets your mind, strengthens your heart, and acts as a balm to your soul. You can live with the certainty that he’s got the whole world in his hands.
