After watching the daily news, our media listener Natasha shot us a note: “How can I find peace and joy in the midst of what’s going on today?”

Perhaps you find yourself asking the same question as you follow the news or receive a worrisome personal update. How do you respond to bad news and reports of trouble and struggle in so many places? What happens to your walk with the Lord?

Today we turn to one of the most powerful affirmations of faith in all of Scripture. Faced with news of an upcoming war, the prophet Habakkuk anticipates food shortages and hunger throughout the land. But in the face of such calamity, he declares that he will still rejoice in God his Savior. External circumstances are not going to stop him from finding personal peace and joy in the Lord.

As Christians, we can rejoice in the midst of the most challenging circumstances because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Even in the toughest of times—such as having to look death in the face—we know that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

In the midst of bad news and hard times, never forget that God loves us, no matter what. By his Spirit he comforts us. He is always in full control of our lives. That joyful reality gives us peace even in the most difficult of times.