Analysis. As I scanned the headlines this weekend for something the Lord would want me to write about, I noticed a common denominator in what I read. Here is a sampling: “World in Crisis a Grim Backdrop for UN Climate Talks,” accompanied by “ ‘Climate Chaos’ warning as UN summit begins,” followed by “Chief of US Strategic Command Warns Larger Conflicts Coming.” On the heels of that, the BBC warns us that the war in The Democratic Republic of Congo is expanding. Not to be outdone by this saber-rattling in Africa, North Korea is stepping up its test-firing of missiles as “practice” for hitting U.S. and South Korean targets. That, in turn, has brought worries to Japan, which is now vowing to strengthen its military. Next door, meanwhile, China is increasing its rhetoric of a forced unification with Taiwan. Moreover, reports from the war in Ukraine forecast a drawn-out conflict during the coming winter months, all the while seeing an increasing involvement of other nations. Closer to home, we are on the precipice of a diesel fuel crisis that is projected to worsen inflation. At the same time, contentious midterm elections have voters on edge over electoral system integrity and violence at the polls, if not during the aftermath once the election outcomes are known. 

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It’s no secret that alarming headlines boost ratings. Such buzz words as crisis, concern, worry, chaos, and conflict get our attention. But they also instill fear — and that is the common denominator I saw in all those news headlines I was looking through: fear. Or, as my millennial daughters call it: existential dread. It’s a sort of hopelessness about the future of this planet and a growing sense that we are on a path to destroying ourselves. 

Social media and electronic newscasts with digital soundbites have added fuel to those fires of fear. It has become increasingly difficult to separate truth from lie, and a partial story from a complete one. Opinions are presented as fact, and facts are often skewed or redacted to appeal to emotions. 

Satan would have it no other way. His is a wholesale business in lies, and this includes fanning the flames of fear. It has been said that the word FEAR is an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real. And that is exactly what Satan does: He will skew the facts to induce fear, because fear is what keeps people from doing the right thing. And the more those fears are fed, the more they grow in our minds to become a stronghold, a fortress of evil deep inside our soul that begins to destroy us from the inside out. Such a fortress of fear will cause us to fear others, to lose hope for the future, to become depressed and lose executive brain function, and to act out of panic in situations that require calmness and forethought. This type of fear is destructive. And Satan’s aim is not merely to control people, but also to steal them from God, Who created them, and then to destroy and kill them (John 10:10).

That is the fear he promotes in the world. But there is another type of fear: what the Bible calls “the fear of God.” The Scripture describes what this does in our souls: The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm (Proverbs 19:23). The fear of the Lord is a deep awe and respect for His majesty, love and power, fueled by truth instead of lies. Where Satan’s form of fear is destructive, the fear of God is constructive and leads one to eternal life. 

Many of the events we see in the world today are the fulfillment of things Jesus foretold about the last days, in such passages as Matthew 24:3–31 and in the visions He gave to John the apostle in Revelation. While it is difficult to match up today’s world events exactly with those renderings of what is to take place, we do recognize that God is shaking the nations in hopes of bringing about human repentance. Revelation 9:20–21 implies this but describes an unfortunate outcome instead. 

Repentance is the result of godly fear — the realization that one’s sin rightly incurs God’s wrath, and that we as sinners must humble ourselves and surrender our lives to God to receive forgiveness, freedom from sin, and eternal life. That is why it is constructive. The fear of the consequences of sin leads to a complete freedom from fear: a respect and an awe for the Father heart of God instead. That type of fear is no destructive stronghold, but rather a propellant to bring us to intimate connection with Him Who gives a peace that transcends understanding (Philippians 4:7). 

This is where the prophetic voice of the Church comes in. We have been given a Great Commission that has stood now for nearly 2,000 years: to spread the good news that in Jesus Christ there is salvation from sin, rescue from tribulation, and eternal hope — instead of existential dread. This is a prophetic commission in the truest sense of the word, because prophecy is speaking forth the counsel of God. Throughout Scripture, prophetic messages have offered both dire warnings and vibrant hope. It was always necessary to warn people of the terrible consequences of rebellion against God while at the same time proclaiming His desire to forgive and to restore: 

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 1:18–20). 

The Great Commission is the mandate of the global Church to bring this message to the nations, including our own nation, which is increasingly turning away from its Christian roots. It is our collective responsibility, and not just that of vocational missionaries and evangelists.  

I believe that this message must feature prominently in our political and legal battles in defense of life, religious freedom, and social justice, and in our attempts to address the horrors of poverty, mental illness, homelessness, violence, and addiction. 

It is the counsel of God that all Americans humble themselves, seek forgiveness for sins, and become born again into a relationship with the God of love and hope, thus being freed from existential dread. 

We are the prophetic voice to proclaim that message in any way we can, anywhere we can — from the official halls of Washington to the homeless camps under the bridges of our cities; from the universities to the primary schools; and from the tech moguls in Silicon Valley to the warehouse workers at the e-tailers. And we do this with every vote we cast, in every speech we make, and with every protest we launch. Nothing will improve and no one will be saved apart from humility, repentance, and a rock-solid faith in the Father heart of the God Who wants everyone to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:3–5). 

Let us remember our prophetic mission this week as we process the outcomes of the midterm elections and as we continue scanning the headlines to see what is happening around the world.  

For us as intercessors, the mission is to propel and empower the prophetic voice of the Church through our prayers. After all, prayer is the work of missions: By prayer we call upon God to have mercy, to open hearts and doors for the gospel (2 Thessalonians 3:1, Colossians 4:3), to empower the preaching of the gospel (Colossians 4:4), and to give boldness and courage to the Church even as the nations rage against her (Acts 4:23–31). Not everyone will want to hear. Many will ridicule the message or become angry at the counsel of God. But we must not stop proclaiming until the gospel is brought to every tribe and nation. 

Here are a few things we can pray for the prophetic mission of the Church to a world in fear: 

1. that the Holy Spirit would open hearts to the gospel and turn existential dread into holy fear;
2. that the Church would not muddle the prophetic message of the gospel we are mandated to declare and that its clarity would not get lost amid all the other actions we undertake in society;
   
3. for an infusion of boldness and courage in the Church to speak forth the counsel of God even as our nation increasingly rages against Him and forgets that we are supposed to be one nation under God; 
4. that the Lord would raise up laborers from among us, refreshed in the Holy Spirit, to go out into all the world: into the political, cultural, religious, educational, social, military, legal, and medical spheres — with a unified proclamation in word and deed of His counsel of repentance and the forgiveness of sin;
5. that the Lord would empower you to be a prophetic voice in your own community, and that He would lead you to where He wants you to go and raise that voice.

Father, we unite our hearts in prayer today. Help us in our prophetic mission to a world that increasingly lives in fear. Grant that we may possess renewed boldness and great clarity in what we say and do, so that Your counsel for humanity to humble itself and get right with You is proclaimed forcefully and is heard clearly. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

How can we encourage each other to be that voice of hope in our places of influence? Share below. 

Remco Brommet is a pastor, spiritual-growth teacher, and prayer leader with over 40 years of experience in Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the U.S. Born and raised in the Netherlands and having pastored his first church in Amsterdam, he moved to the U.S. in 1986. He and his wife, Jennifer, live north of Atlanta. When not writing books, he blogs and assists his wife as a content developer and prayer coordinator for True Identity Ministries. Jennifer and Remco are passionate about bringing people into a deeper relationship with Christ. Photo Credit: Canva.