Written by Jason D. Bland |
Sunday, January 2, 2022
Simply put, when we turn to Christ in prayer, He provides peace over all matters. While it doesn’t remove the trials and tribulations, the sources of anxiety and stress, or absolve Christians from dealing with difficult situations, it does provide a path toward dealing with these challenges in a healthy and faithful way.

Today, perhaps more so than at some other periods in our lifetimes, people appear to be overcome with high anxiety. We see this we turn on the television, open our social media feed, or talk to family or friends. In so many ways we’re bombarded with stress-inducing stimuli: the persistent/perceived threat of COVID (from both the government and media), the impact of wokeism and cancel culture, apprehensive views of US political leaders, etc. But we know that this is not where the Lord wants us to focus our thoughts and energy. We should not expect to live with the soul crushing weight of anxiety and stress. In fact, it’s quite to the contrary.
As Christians, when we face the turmoil and turbulence of our modern world, we must hold fast to the lessons of Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (NKJV 1997).  Simply put, when we turn to Christ in prayer, He provides peace over all matters. While it doesn’t remove the trials and tribulations, the sources of anxiety and stress, or absolve Christians from dealing with difficult situations, it does provide a path toward dealing with these challenges in a healthy and faithful way.
All Christians struggle with the notion of pursuing Christ daily, pouring out our worries at His feet, and trusting intentionally in Him. However, the burden of anxiety is not meant to be dealt with alone; rather, Christ shares that burden with believers and takes the pressure off their bruised shoulders. This is what happens when believers have an active and robust faith in the power of Christ to provide a solution for their tribulations – to give them peace and strength.
Consider for a moment the specific impact of COVID as an anxiety-inducing factor. Over the past two years, the levels of anxiety and stress have risen markedly due to the virus. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association released an article explaining the trends:
More than four in 10 adults (43%) report the pandemic has had a serious impact on their mental health, up from 37% in 2020. Fifty nine percent of younger adults are more likely to report a serious impact on their mental health due to the pandemic. More than half (54%) of 30 to 44-year-olds also report a serious mental health impact; fewer older adults (24%) report serious mental health impacts.
A key point of this article was that stress has become sustained, an evil that must be dealt with persistently, with no apparent end in sight. It’s also significant to point out that “younger adults” (Gen Z and Millennials), the backbone of our society’s workforce and economy, exhibit the most severe struggles with mental health issues. This is not a good sign for a society that hopes to recover from the pandemic and return to a healthy footing.
In direct opposition to this persistent anxiety and stress within the population at large, is the hope and peace that Christians exhibit through their faith in Jesus Christ. Their faith provides special access to a peace that the world can only dream of. Instead of fearing day-to-day trials and tribulations, or worrying about the possibility of catching the virus, Christians must live their lives in the fear of the Lord, the catalyst of spiritual wisdom. Proverbs 9:10 exhorts believers in this way: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (NKJV 1997). With wisdom and understanding Christians are reminded of the confidence they have in being children of God, the Creator of the universe who exhibits sovereignty over all things: time, space, and all of life circumstances.
This theological foundation, grounded in God’s infallible Word, should catapult Christians, including leaders in churches, business, education, etc., to lead with a supernatural confidence. They should live and lead with the utmost confidence in who God is and what He does in their lives.
This confidence is infectious. It is the salt that flavors the world with the unique peace that only Christ offers. Remember that Jesus said: “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13a, NKJV 1997). How amazing is the impact then of all Christians, including those whom the Lord has placed in positions of authority; their actions spiritually flavor the world about them, allowing the world to see the peace they live with every day. These actions create an environment and community that unbelievers will want to be part of.
Seth Godin, a contemporary business writer, has written about the power of community, or what he refers to as “tribes.” He stated, “[H]uman beings can’t help it: we need to belong. One of the most powerful of our survival mechanisms is to be part of a tribe, to contribute to (and take from) a group of like-minded people” (2008, p. 3). The Lord reaffirmed what we learn in 1 Thessalonian 5:14, where brothers and sisters in Christ are to comfort and support one another, to be patient, to create a loving community, i.e., a tribe. Continuing this thought of community, it becomes apparent why so many people have been hurting from anxiety, stress, and mental pain. COVID has caused many people to shut themselves off and live in isolation.
Christians, on the other hand, must be willing to step out and live their lives with confidence and exuberance, and dare I say, a little bit of courage within their community.
Clearly, there is no better tribe than the tribe of God. Only in this tribe can people receive peace and strength. What Godin described is what Christians live out every day. The salt with which Christians flavor their daily interactions is a continuous appeal to those who have stumbled, the fallen, the unbeliever. So, too, are Christians’ daily interactions with one another, an encouragement to their fellow believers and further strengthening the community. It is vital, then, for Christian leaders to live their lives, not with high anxiety but with the calm assurance of a Christ-filled life.
As others encounter the peace that Christian leaders offer it becomes infectious. People want to be safe, secure, even if it means escaping from their own thoughts or the constant attack of worldly tribulation. Therefore, it’s imperative for Christians leaders to live out their lives as Philippians 4:6 exhorted, without anxiety, and even more, with thanksgiving.
Christian leaders must be the ultimate example of this lifestyle. When people see the power of Christ-filled relationships, unbelievers will sense a compulsion to pursue it. If they encounter Christians who are just as worried, grief stricken, and full of doubts, why would they want to follow such a path? Instead, Christian leaders must offer the antithesis to the life of high anxiety – they must exhibit a life full of peace and strength.
Jason D. Bland is the founder of Signet Leadership, an organizational leadership consulting and coaching firm. He is a military veteran and experienced leader of organizational operations in both the military and civilian sectors. Jason is also a doctoral student at Regent University, studying Strategic Leadership.

The gospel does not repudiate the existence of the nations. It Christianizes them as they maintain their unique cultural distinctives that do not conflict with the Christian faith.  In the New Jerusalem that comes down to earth, the Bible says, “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it (Rev. 21:24).” Nations will not cease to exist in the new heavens and the new earth.  Jesus told us to disciple the nations, not to assimilate them.

When I was in my last year as a student at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia in 1972, I had to preach my senior sermon under the tutelage of Dr. Jay Adams.  Videotaping was the new thing back then, and after the sermon was preached Dr. Adams would sit down in a small room with the student, and while playing the tape he would critique the sermon. I’m sure he heard better sermons than mine.
Dr. Adams was always honest and to the point. There was one thing he said to me that I will never forget.  “Larry, you need to either change your accent or go back to Appalachia.”  He was right and I went back to Appalachia.  I have been ministering here now for over fifty years.  Although the Appalachian Mountains extend from Maine to Alabama, the heart of Appalachia is southern West Virginia, Southwest Virginia, and extreme Eastern Kentucky—what might be considered coal country.
The heart of Appalachia is my heritage.  Traditionally, it has been a closed community because of its rugged mountains and its people who have a common ancestry.  Not many people move to the heart of Appalachia.  It developed a unique culture of its own and formed a distinct version of the English language. We shared a common religion, common habits, and common rituals.  For example, the rite of passage for a boy to become a man required hunting with a rifle (or preferably with a bow and arrow) and killing a deer, a male buck.  The number of points on the antlers added to your masculinity.
A common tale among my folks there in Appalachia was that the best place to find a wife was at a family reunion. Although, I did not meet my wife at a family reunion, I did meet her at a church picnic.  After we were married, she became interested in genealogy, and we soon found out that we were cousins. We were kin.  As a community-oriented people we tended to marry others within the Appalachian boundaries because we didn’t travel much beyond the mountains.
Before I was married, and after graduating from a local college, I moved away from Appalachia to attend Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia.  I soon felt a bit out of place in the big city.  Educationally, I was behind most students.  Culturally, I did not quite fit in. I found some American students to be condescending. I felt much more at home with fellow Asian students because it seemed to me that I was from a different country as much as they were. My roommates and best friends during my seminary years were from Korea and the Philippines. Living outside of Appalachia made me aware of how much I had in common with my own people back home, how much I had in common with minority groups, and how different I was from most other Americans.
Now to my point.  Having read much of the literature of Kinism and being from Appalachia, I often wonder if I am a Kinist (soft or hard?).  Samuel Sey’s recent article on The Aquila Report (Why Some Evangelicals Are Embracing Racism) pushed me to ask that question again, as I have asked myself many times in the past.
Any friendship with Kinists in the modern Reformed world is almost the kiss of death.  Kinism and Anti-Kinists are major enemies of each other. Most communications are filled with troubling language and inevitably someone on either side is accused of denying the gospel.   I have dear friends on both sides of the issue.  I don’t always agree with the Kinists and when I do disagree, they are quick to call my hand.  Among Anti-Kinists, I don’t usually even bring up the topic.  I read the literature from both sides of the isle, and I try to pick the choice nuggets from each.  Because of my experience in Appalachia, I can identify with some tenets of Kinism, and yet I’m still working on how this may apply to other people in different places.
I don’t believe interracial marriage is sinful.  For those who choose to make that decision, I am fully supportive, even though I believe it brings additional challenges with it.   Some of the finest Christian people I know are in interracial marriages. What bothers me today is that the modern media is normalizing it through popular venues such as TV commercials.  Individual choice among consenting adults is one thing.  Propaganda is another.
I have no problem with legal immigration. However, I am opposed to the invasion of illegal immigrants. The melting pot in America is quickly becoming a boiling pot.  I don’t believe multi-culturalism will survive in the long-run. I believe that nations are biblically defined by a common border, a common language, and a common religion (see my book on Critical Race Theory and the Church – Chapter 3).  In addition, my experience in Appalachia tells me that a common heritage is also critical.  Cultural Marxism is pushing the United States into tribalism, and the humiliation of this once-great country may soon be ahead of us.  I am afraid we interpret the Bible through the lens of American pluralism (now polytheism) more than we do through biblical categories.
The creation of languages at the Towel of Babel was not a judgment upon the concept of a nation per se.  It was a judgment upon a false religion that refused to implement the cultural mandate to subdue the whole earth (Gen. 1:28). God’s mandate required people-groups to spread across the entire globe, conquering all things on this earth for the glory of God, not building one large city with a tower reaching to heaven for the glory of man. Grace does not negate the creation of the nations; it redefines and redirects their goals in accordance with the words of Christ.
Having studied the arguments from both Kinists and Alienists (as they are called by Kinists), I could only wish that they could sit down at a table and discuss their differences in a civil way.  However, I don’t expect this to happen, no more than I expect a conversation between Christian Nationalists and their opposition.  I don’t expect these Christian leaders to talk to one another.  Just inflammatory words from both sides.  I’ve been around too long.  The future will reveal who was right and who was wrong. We’ll just have to wait and see, or maybe our grandchildren will see. In the meantime, the ammunition will continue to fly.
I believe Christians from various ethnicities can worship in the same local church.  We can all worship together.  However, I find that if different people-groups want to worship separately, it is not a sin.  In the PCA, more than 10% of our churches are Korean-American churches who speak the Korean language in their worship services. To help them in this endeavor, the PCA Book of Church Order has been translated from English into the Korean language.  Of course, they are welcome in traditional white Anglo-Saxon Christian churches, but they have chosen to worship in accordance with their own nationality, even as they live in America. They feel much more comfortable in doing so.  I have no problem with that.  They are my brothers and sisters in the Lord, and I respect their choice. On a denominational level where we all speak English we work well together. No one ever accuses them of being racists.
The gospel does not repudiate the existence of the nations. It Christianizes them as they maintain their unique cultural distinctives that do not conflict with the Christian faith.  In the New Jerusalem that comes down to earth, the Bible says, “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it (Rev. 21:24).” Nations will not cease to exist in the new heavens and the new earth.  Jesus told us to disciple the nations, not to assimilate them.
Thus, am I a Kinist?  I married my cousin.  We have common ancestors.  We were both raised in the Appalachian culture, and we were both Presbyterians. We have been very happy and blessed. It’s natural to love your own people as we respect other people-groups as well. It has nothing to do with racism. My way is not the only way, but it has been a great blessing in my life.  In that sense, maybe you could even call me a hyper-Kinist.
Larry E. Ball is a retired minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is now a CPA. He lives in Kingsport, Tenn.
Related Posts:

Prayers that are not offered in and through Christ are like undelivered letters. They remain unread, unopened, and most significantly, unheeded. Anyone who has not put their faith in Jesus and approached God through him does not have access to him. Your prayers are undelivered, landing in God’s infinite dead-letter office. The Bible is very clear on this point. ‘There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus’ (1 Tim 2:5). 

We have been going through Hebrews recently in church. The key headline from Sunday’s sermon was that, in Christ, we can have real confidence before the judgement seat of God. We can access God confidently through the Lord Jesus.
One of the side points I made in that sermon – in passing and it was not in my notes – was that unbelievers have no right of access. Specifically, I noted that God does not hear the prayers of unbelievers. That is to say, if you do not trust in Jesus, God does not hear your prayers.
Of course, by that, I don’t mean God cannot hear the words coming out of people’s mouths or the thoughts in their heads. Of course he knows and hears those things. He knows and hears everything. So, in the sense that he knows when unbelievers are praying and knows exactly why they are praying and what they want, God hears their prayers in that sense.
But what I mean is that God does not grant them a hearing.
Read More
Related Posts: