* The people had lost their freedom and were now subservient to Babylon.

* When catastrophe happens, you have three choices.

* The first two choices are Denial and Despair.

* DENIAL refuses to see what’s right in front of you.

* DESPAIR can only see what in front of you.

* In Denial, you pretend it’s not there.

* It thinks everything will be fine.

* It takes refuge in fantasies and distractions.

* It’s a refusal to come to grips with reality.

* In Despair, you no longer have a vision for the future and the weight of your current situation is more than you can bear.

* So you sit in it without any hope of getting out.

* It is paralyzed by the catastrophe, unwilling to do anything.

* It is void of hope.

* Both denial and despair are sin.

* So what do you do?

* DECIDE to see what’s in front of you and project God’s power into the future.

* Fear is about a past or present threat.

* Anxiety is about a future threat - the threat of powerlessness.

* We are commanded NOT to be anxious.

* How? By seeing our current situation and projecting God’s power into the future.