{"id":1185,"date":"2023-03-11T10:56:52","date_gmt":"2023-03-11T15:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/isittheendoftheworld\/?p=1185"},"modified":"2023-03-11T10:56:52","modified_gmt":"2023-03-11T15:56:52","slug":"what-do-you-have-to-worry-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/isittheendoftheworld\/2023\/03\/what-do-you-have-to-worry-about.html","title":{"rendered":"What Do You Have To Worry About?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Media seem to largely exist today to feed the advertising revenue monster. Getting \u201cclicks\u201d and engaging a wider readership is priority no. 1.

Reporting meaningful information? Probably not so much.

A new report by CBS News ramps-up the fearmongering\u2014as if we needed more of that in this Age of Weirdness\u2014and it does so by unintentionally highlighting how bad humans are at predictions. The truth is, we don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen this evening, much less what will happen on Valentine\u2019s Day 2046.

Because that\u2019s the date we are told an asteroid could hit the earth.

Really?

The article is quite interesting, and not because of the vague data given.

It\u2019s interesting because we see how language is used to manipulate emotions. The title of the piece, \u201cNASA is monitoring an asteroid that could collide with Earth on Valentine’s Day in 2046,\u201d is written to grab you. In the actual article though, we learn that NASA\u2019s Planetary Defense Coordination Office deems the threat \u201cvery small.\u201d

By the editor\u2019s own admission (in the title!), the asteroid dubbed 2023 DW could<\/em> collide with Earth. Could is a mighty important word in this context.

A piece of Apollo equipment floating in space these last 50-odd years could<\/em> fall and hit me while I\u2019m in the shower on my birthday in 2052. I could become a brain surgeon.

Do you see?

It is certain that no one actually knows whether this particular asteroid will hit the earth, or not. Even more obvious, it is impossible to say when<\/em> it would hit, if it does. The \u201cValentine\u2019s Day 2046\u201d nonsense is fear-mongering and irresponsible. It\u2019s click-bait.

Now people have one more thing to worry about.

Let me attempt to give you a different perspective.

The only One that knows what is going to happen in the future is the God of the Bible, the great Creator God. He has revealed Himself and His nature in Scripture, and there, anyone can read about Him. In Isaiah 46:9-11, God states:

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.<\/em>

I am happy to believe God.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>

He knows literally everything. Past, present, future. He knows corporate future, what will happen to Earth, etc. He also knows your<\/em> past, present, and future. The former doesn\u2019t have to define you, and the latter can be very bright. Romans 10:9-11 gives a clear map to peace:

If you declare with your mouth, \u201cJesus is Lord,\u201d and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, \u201cAnyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.\u201d<\/em>

Marvelous, detailed prophecies in the Bible have come to pass over the years. For anyone willing to consider that with an open mind, there is overwhelming evidence that the Bible is true and that God is real. You can choose to believe that, and stop worrying about the silly predictions of flawed humans.<\/p>\r\n

In Jerusalem’s Old City, there is an excavation at the base of the famed Western Wall. Here, huge cut stones litter the area. These are from the destruction of the Temple, by Rome’s Tenth Legion, in AD 70. Jesus, in Matthew 1, predicted this 40 years before it happened. He described the future Temple as being in ruins, the top of the complex scraped clean like a table top. “Not one stone left on another.” Today, you can visit the area and see this fulfillment with your own eyes. I have. It’s just one of hundreds of reasons I believe all the Bible is true.\u00a0

Three days before he was murdered, John Lennon gave an interview to Rolling Stone. He had long reflected on life and the future, but in the end, he didn\u2019t know what would happen. Poignantly, he said:

\u201c\u2019Sometimes you wonder, I mean really wonder. I know we make our own reality, and we always have a choice, but how much is preordained?

\u201c\u2019Is there always a fork in the road, and are there two preordained paths that are equally preordained? There could be hundreds of paths where one could go this way or that way \u2013 there\u2019s a choice, and it\u2019s very strange sometimes. And that\u2019s a good ending for our interview. Goodbye, till next time,\u2019 John Lennon said.\u201d

God knew everything about John Lennon, past, present, and future. He knows everything about you. In His Word, He tells us repeatedly that we don\u2019t have to worry about the future, or anything else. He has all that in His hands. He has provided a path to peace and stated it very clearly.

I admit my frustration with silly articles that predict what is going to happen, while at the same time tipping their hand that they really have no idea. Are you worried about asteroids? Are you dreading seeing oceans rise and flood inland cities? Do you worry that a new system will take your money and that digital currency will somehow enslave all of us? Do you worry about the latest study that says eggs are bad for you, until they\u2019re not in the next study?

We don\u2019t know what will happen five minutes from now, much less on a holiday on a distant calendar date.

But there is One that does know. In Jeremiah 23:23 (a prophetic book, by the way!), God says that He is everything, including a God that is near to us.

If you are drowning in those rising oceans of worry right now, it doesn\u2019t have to be that way. Place your trust in the Creator today.

You have nothing to worry about.<\/em>










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