I was feeling pretty down that day.

Okay, let’s be honest… I’d been feeling pretty down ever since the Russian Invasion of Ukraine two days earlier, in late February of last year

I know we all felt it… The fear of the unknown, the worry over whether or not WWIII had just begun, the concern for family and friends in Ukraine, and possibly throughout all of Europe… And what if this were to go global? Living in Canada may not keep me from the horrors of war!

I suppose my biggest concern was for my family in Belgium. I’ve told my wife a few times that I’m happy my parents didn’t live to see this day. They both vividly recalled the horrors of WWII. They would NOT have been happy with the possible threat of a third world war! Only two days into the invasion, with the war being fought well within the Ukrainian borders, my cousin in Belgium indicated that prices on everything were expected to skyrocket the next day, and as a result, there were long line-ups all over town. Yup. I didn’t know how far the war would go, but even the potential threat was having an impact on my western European family.

I will admit, I was feeling down about something else as well…

After seeing steady improvement in my cognition over the previous 6 weeks, and with everyone exclaiming over how much better my cognition was, I could tell my cognition had taken a turn for the worse since the news of Russia invading the Ukraine. I’m pretty sure it was related to my emotional stress and distraction; nonetheless, all of the gains we had enjoyed over those few weeks were … out the window …

We had decided to set that particular day aside as a day of fasting and prayer for the Russia/Ukraine situation, but I was feeling so down that it was difficult to even focus on the prayer needs of the people. My wife had a solution for me. She suggested I go and have some private “God-time” as she calls it, uninterrupted time with my Heavenly Father. I did as she suggested, and about 30 minutes later, I came back downstairs with a totally new look on life. I realized in that moment that God was calling me to pray. Pray for the Ukrainians, pray against the Russian invasion, pray for my cousin and other family members in Belgium, pray against any possible ramifications of this invasion, and in general, to engage in spiritual warfare over the entire situation.

Suddenly, instead of feeling helpless and depressed, I felt full of power — God’s power. And I knew beyond a doubt that our prayers would have a significant heavenly impact!

In the famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us some very excellent advice: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34 NIV). This is a commonly-quoted verse, but as I think back over my morning, I realize that in my worry about “tomorrow” (read, all the “what ifs” of potential WWIII), it was having a negative impact on my cognitive status, and the result was I let depression slip in! Better to let God do the worrying about tomorrow! That frees me up to work on keeping the depression at bay!

By the time you read this devotional, I don’t know where the world will be. This threat brought on by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has unfortunately not gone away. Are we still headed for a full-scale world war? I don’t know, but it is God’s concern, not mine. My concern is to live in the moment, worry about the things of today, and instead of stressing about the future, praying for it and leaving it in God’s hands!

Oh, and the next time you are feeling so down about something that you can’t even focus on the greater need, try some “God-time”! It works wonders!

In His love,
Rob Chaffart
Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries