Keep Calm and Trust God

Editorial by Celeste Ryan Blyden

It’s hard to believe we are still living through a pandemic. Despite all human effort, this virus is relentless and unwilling to relinquish its global grip and march of pain. When you consider the lives lost—more than 5 million worldwide—the families devastated and the economic impact, it’s easy to wonder, what’s next?

Last fall, as uncertain days dragged on, God set up a divine appointment to buoy my spirits. I visited with a colleague to see how he was doing and what kept him going.
Without hesitation, he pulled out a little book called Keep Calm and Trust God and began telling me about its contents. The book is a compilation of inspiring quotes, poems, Bible texts and prayers on many of the issues we face today: anxiety, fear, frustration, pressure, depression, crises, etc. No matter what is going on, he shared, we can keep calm and trust God.

His testimony encouraged my heart, and that very day I ordered a copy. In the introduction, I learned the origin of the now-famous slogan, “Keep Calm and Carry On.” In 1939, as the threat of World War II loomed, the British government coined the phrase
and created posters to galvanize resistance against Hitler’s evil aggression and provide much-needed encouragement. The introduction to the book notes that “the future of the free world teetered in the balance. And in those dark times, believers everywhere prayed fervently.”