If you keep up with the news at all, you know it can be somewhat depressing to consider all the terrible things that are going on in the world. E.g., conflicts in Israel and Ukraine, other parts of the world. We seem to be on the verge of a world war; we are right on the edge. Almost any little event could plunge the world into total chaos.

And besides that, our society is becoming increasingly immoral and anti-Christian. Pornography, abortion, homosexuality, violence, and crime are becoming increasingly acceptable. We see the conflicts regarding trans-genderism and racism impacting our world.

Thousands of Christians around the world face persecution, arrest, prison, torture and death simply for practicing their faith. You might say that we are living in perilous times. That’s exactly what Paul warns us about in our text today.

What does he mean by “perilous”? Perilous means “difficult, hard to deal with.” Paul is giving us some advice for dealing with difficult days.

Paul gives us five basic principles to help us endure perilous times.