It is believed by some who interpret current events that we have entered a moment in history where the makings of World War III are beginning to unfold. The Doomsday Clock that measures the proximity of a nuclear exchange is closer now than ever before in our lifetime. The clock is telling us we are 90 seconds away from midnight. That time gap continues to close with each passing day.

Some will dismiss the recent global posturing on both sides of the Ukraine conflict as just another display of nations simply flexing their might for whatever side they support. A brief study of history reveals that wars have been started when nations become insecure, feel pushed into a corner of limited response options, or are compelled to support their allies. It is then that the unthinkable can happen, triggering a global conflict. 

God has plans for our world and those plans are not determined by human calculations or predictive clocks.  What we see taking place in the tinderbox of the conflict in Ukraine has a deeper cause and effect than our news outlets are telling us. Much of what we have been told to believe is a diversion of our attention away from the deeper issues at play creating in us an emotional response. If we attempt to interpret what is happening in our world through the filter of our emotions believing all we have been told to believe, we become easy prey for those attempting to manipulate our thinking and eventually, our response.

We are in a “wars and rumors of war” moment. If you have been lulled to sleep by the never-ending drone of insignificant news and a focus on the advertised lesser issues of life, this is a good time to regain the focus of a renewed mind. Behind the strings of the social and political puppet masters currently at work is an emerging evil that must be met head-on with the kind of spiritual warfare Paul described – warfare that has grown out of favor with a distracted Western Church.

Instead of watching the hand of a Doomsday Clock, watch the hand of God. We move by the instruction and timing of the Father, not by what appears to be obvious signs of a coming global conflict. His intervening hand, not the hands of a Doomsday Clock, is where we must focus our attention in this very unstable moment in history. Any other focus will make us slaves to fear.

“Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the Lord our God, Until He has mercy on us” (Psalm 123:2).