Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7

Mature Christians are at peace with situations beyond their control. This may be one of the more underrated measures of spiritual maturity. Just Google CNN, BBC or some other news outlet. You probably watched or read stories about terrorists, wars, famine and the downward spiral of political leaders and everything in between.

Are we living in hard times? Undoubtedly. Are the acts reported on the news awful? Often they are beyond awful, they are heinous. But mature Christians’ lives and peace are not derailed by latest buzz on the news. They don’t waste time worrying and coming unglued over situations beyond their control.

Instead, they use such news items as fodder to fuel prayer…and they pray hard. They act on the situations they can control—the lives they can touch or make a difference in. But they don’t allow a second of their day to be wasted worrying or losing their calmness about the many, many things beyond their control.

This includes conspiracy theories, sensationalized new stories, and celebrity gossip which characterize far too much of what’s considered ‘news’ today.

God’s got it covered. He is sovereign over everything. That includes terrorists. This includes the current election in the U.S. Most Christian give intellectual assent that God has it under control. Mature Christians live that way. As long as God’s got it covered, there is no reason to worry.

“God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him” (1 Pet 5:7).