FROM THE EDITORS April 28, 2008 Issue

LEAVE DESPAIR IN THE DUST

SOMETIMES THE CONSTANT NEWS REPORTS streaming into our lives can feel like Pandora's box, laying out for consideration any number of causes for anxiety, personal or global. Story after story emphasizes our role as physical beings, in a surreal, often predatory environment. People are left wondering how anyone could ever find a way through such tangled webs of personal and social upheaval. Perhaps the best word to describe this is despair.

For many, despair is a very real emotion—brought about by another car bomb in Baghdad, innocent bystanders killed in a local mall shooting, rising floodwaters, a house in foreclosure. And sometimes despair finds its way into the smaller corners of life through irritation and emotional distress. This lack of hope can easily catch a person off guard, so that they momentarily lose sight of the fact that there is a way out. But the Sentinel's message, which has its roots in the Bible, is that God's way provides an instantly effective path to progress and healing.

Bible times were also characterized by wars, political upheaval, social turmoil, and personal trials. And perhaps among the most disillusioned were the early Christian pioneers. Their indefatigable cheerleader, the Apostle Paul, rallied them with these words: "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair" (II Cor. 4:8). Why not? Because Paul knew they had the perfect antidote. He consistently claimed the present opposite of the apparent trouble. And that spirit defines hope. Paul called on the Christians to acknowledge God as their source of strength and give gratitude for the very fact of His unfailing care. He knew this "daily prayer" would renew their spirit, so they would be better able to heal and spread the comforting news of the Christ.

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