The closing days of this twentieth century are in many ways darkening ones. Crime is soaring; shocking immorality and corruption are being exposed in places high and low; violence is becoming more deadly and is involving younger perpetrators and victims; homes are breaking up at an alarming rate; the abuse of the young before and after birth grows more heartless; an anti-God spirit is becoming more hateful and vocal and widespread; in too many churches worldliness and compromise have come in where the Gospel used to be preached in power and purity. You can name other things that grieve and concern or alarm you.
What Is A Christian To Do?
"Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matthew 24:12). The fact that now iniquity does abound and that the love of many shall wax cold--does not mean that we must be among that "many" whose love has grown cold toward our blessed Lord! Rather, it is a direct challenge and a warning to us to stir up ourselves to take hold of God and press toward the mark as never before and to continue to have faith in God regardless of how dark things look.
The perilous times spoken of in God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:1-17) are a call not to retreat or to retrench, but rather to advance. Days of terror and peril and danger such as we face today are days of opportunity for us. We Christians are not called to shut our eyes to the hideous facts all around us, or to bury our heads in the sand ostrich-like, and hope for the best, or to get panicky and seek to run away from the whole terrible situation.
The Lord calls us to be witnesses unto Him right out among the people (Acts 1:8). We are not to seek a hole to hide in, but seek someone to whom we may witness. We need to get our lights out from under the bushels of fear, unbelief, and unconcern for the perishing multitudes all around us (Matthew 5:14-15). Jesus says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).
Oh, to let the light of God’s love, and the assurance of the great salvation wherewith He has saved us and the light of unswerving devotion to the Lord we love and trust--so shine before a frightened and frustrated people that they too may turn unto God!
Face Every Situation With Faith In God
In this darkening hour, face all problems in full reliance upon God’s faithfulness. No situation, no condition, no difficult, involved, unknown, untried, dark and dangerous circumstance or combination of circumstances--is too hard for God. He knows all things. And He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7; 1 John 3:20). Nothing is too hard for God (Jeremiah 32:17). With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). It is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6).
Instead of facing difficult situations, untried problems, intricate obstacles, obstinate hindrances, sorrowful testings, large demands, heavy responsibilities in fear and dread and trembling--rather, rejoice! God is bigger than it all put together, and He loves us and desires that we trust and obey Him always. God is greater than the Y2K crisis, which might be frightening you.
Rejoice when impossible duties lie directly across our paths, because such things make us to know right away that only by God’s help can we perform these duties in a way that will please God, glorify Him, and result in His will being done in earth as it is in heaven.
Never face difficult and involved tasks and circumstances in a fearful attitude of mind or heart, as though God had gone off and left us, as though He had lost His power and His wisdom and His Almightiness, as though He were not our Faithful Creator, who in His love, has already shown and manifested His compassion for us by giving His only begotten Son to die a cruel death for us (1 Peter 4:12-19; Romans 8:26-39).
Instead of "shying away" from difficult problems, like a frightened animal, let us eagerly face these hard things because it gives God a chance to manifest yet further His faithfulness and His supernatural might. Hallelujah!
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil. 4:6).
Live Right
To the end that we may always have God’s help, let us be sure that our lives are lined up in His will, according to His Word--that we are not living in sin, that we are not grieving God by unbelief in His Word, by criticism of other Christians, by carelessness, by self-indulgence, by deceitfulness, by hatred of other people, by neglect of known duties, or by any other sin of neglect or of positive disobedience to His Word.
"Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the Name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment" (1 John 3:21-23).
Look not at the walled cities and the giants in the land, but rather look above it all and see God smiling down upon us and reassuring us that He has given us the land, and we are to go in and possess it by His help! (Numbers, chapter 13; Deuteronomy 1:8-30).
"Fear Not"
Our wonderful Lord tells us pointedly: "Fear not" (Luke 8:50). Let us then watchfully and wholeheartedly obey this command of our Master. Let us hate and abhor fear and unbelief even more than we abhor filth. "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good" (Romans 14:23).
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).
Therefore feed on the Word of God. Meditate on His Word (Psalm 1). Realize that our soul needs nourishment as well as our body. Take time, make time, use time for reading and also for meditating on God’s Word, that you may know His will, and that you may be strong to do His will!
Feed on God’s Word far more than you do on natural food for the body. Meditate on God’s Word and on what God says about things far, exceedingly far, more than on what the newspapers say, or what the radio says, or what anybody or any creature says.
God knows that we have need of food and drink and clothing (Matthew 6:25-34). The body will grow weak, and eventually die, unless proper food is taken. God says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). The Lord of Glory does not want us to worry about these things, but to trust Him and seek first to advance His cause on earth, and then food and drink and clothing will be added to us.
When you buy food, the storekeeper throws in free the bag to carry it in. So, as we seek first to advance the cause of the Christ of God on earth, He "throws in" our food and clothing. The storekeeper gives the bags free with the purchased goods. How much more shall our Almighty Heavenly Father, for Jesus’ sake, give His own blood-bought children the things they need--"add to" them their food and clothing as they obey His Word and seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
Trust God In The Dark
Abraham waited for years in faith for Isaac to be born. So we may need to learn to keep on believing though answers to prayer may be delayed. We may need to learn to trust God in the dark.
"Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the Name of the Lord, and stay upon his God" (Isaiah 50:10).
Does not a child have to learn to trust his parents in the dark? How much more then shall we who are saved, who are born-again, who have repented of our sins and are washed in Jesus’ blood, who have believed on the Son of God for full and free salvation--how much more shall we trust in our Almighty Heavenly Father even though He calls us to walk sometimes in the dark.
Was David always on the mountain top? (Read the Psalms). Was Paul always out of the land of trouble and distress? (Read 2 Corinthians 11:23-33; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10; Philippians 4:13.) How are we ourselves ever to know the true depth of our own love to God, and of His love to us, unless He suffers us to be tempted and tried? Let us remember the "all things" of Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."
Oh, to have in our very heart of hearts, that simple childlike trust in God that delights His heart! Years ago I was thinking, "It is so hard to have faith. It is so hard to believe." Immediately the Lord spoke to my heart: "It is not hard to believe. Even a child can trust. You don’t have to think to trust." And through the years, that has been an encouragement and a comfort to me.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). As we obey this Word and trust in the Lord with all our heart, we have no heart left with which to worry, or fear or fret. We are not even to "lean" unto our own understanding. Give no place to doubt or fear! Resist the devil. Give no place to him (James 4:7-8; Ephesians 4:27).
See The Rainbow On The Storm Clouds!
God is the God of the miraculous. His ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:8-13). God’s promise to Abraham was indeed to be fulfilled--that he should have a son and heir, but Isaac was born when Abraham was "as good as dead" (Hebrews 11:8-12).
When the glorious Lord, the miracle-working Son of God, was crucified between two thieves, and the disciples were scattered, was not that an hour of midnight gloom, and unutterable defeat--to all appearances--for the followers of Jesus? Yet in about fifty days thereafter, the great revival burst forth on the day of Pentecost! Thousands of Jews were saved before judgment fell on the Jewish nation, and they were, for a time, cut off, and the Gentiles grafted in.
Since God is no respecter of persons, let us sincerely believe Him to send a great "last day" revival, and save multitudes from among the Gentiles before He cuts off the Gentiles, sends fearful judgments upon them, and grafts Israel back into His favor (Romans 11:1-32).
Although we today live in one of the earth’s darkest hours since Calvary, let us believe God to send yet another mighty Pentecost and save multitudes from among the Gentiles just as He saved thousands from among the sinning Jewish nation.
Let us set our faces (Isa. 50:7; Daniel 9:3), and stir up ourselves to take hold of God (Isa. 64:7) and pray through till God comes and rains righteousness upon us (Hosea 10:12) and as He has promised (Joel 2:28-32) pours out His Spirit upon all flesh and saves multitudes from among the Gentiles for His Glory (James 5:7).
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