The things happening in the world today should serve, if nothing else, to reveal to us that mankind does not have it in him to direct his own way. For crying out loud, look where we are! Look at the horrors of war and destruction happening in so many places in the world – how can humankind be so smug as to behave as though men are in control of everything when we watch the homes of multimillionaires – some of them supporters or financiers of genocide – burning into cinders in some of the ritziest places in Los Angeles? Their money couldn’t save their homes; is this God’s way of showing us that wealth and the (illusion of) security it brings are by no means absolute?
I personally believe the LA fires, as well as all of the unusually severe weather events, such as the winter storm that just ravaged Great Britain and the Saudi Arabian floods in the desert – are reminders from the Almighty that He is watching. He’s watching as tens of thousands of children are being mercilessly slaughtered in places like Gaza – especially in Gaza – and He hears prayers by the thousands, maybe millions, for His intercession, as we wait for Him to move. It’s an odd thing that we seem to hope for the hosts of Heaven to appear, angelic swords and lightning flashing; thunder pealing, looking for the planes and tanks of the evil ones to burst into flames, but alas for us impatient folks, God works in His own way – maybe those things will take place one day, but for now we are left to try and connect the dots between the Hind Rajab atrocity and the fires in the Pacific Palisades; between the demon-possessed military men who laugh as they post videos of blowing up homes in Gaza and snarled traffic from unexpected snowstorms in places that have never seen snow, at least in living memory.
As believers in Jesus Christ, we have to force ourselves to acknowledge the disconnect (and it is a huge disconnect) between how we would handle the atrocities that are going on, and how the Almighty chooses to deal with it. Keep in mind that He can see both sides of this experience we call existence. He sees what is happening here on earth for sure, but unlike us He also is able to see things on the other side, and therefore has other resources besides His great wisdom from which to draw on for the action He takes. I think this is the main reason we allow ourselves to be so incredulous as we await signs of His retribution upon those who perpetrate this evil genocide. For instance, we are shocked and dismayed at the loss of life of the children and other victims, but He sees those children sitting in eternal joy in the arms of Jesus on the other side – He knows they are and will forevermore be safe and their tears have been wiped away, so His methodology is not influenced by their loss the same way as it drives us (to hope for vengeance) here on earth.
God is eternal, time means nothing to Him, so He doesn’t have to be in a rush and has the luxury of patience, and as odd as it may sound, the worst offenders of human norms right now have the same opportunity for repentance and salvation as anyone else, and it’s quite possible that their consciences will evoke contrition to the extent that they might seek Jesus Christ. At least the opportunity is there for now. Many of them have been unable to come to grips with some of the things they have done and instead of repenting, have taken their own lives like the Israeli bulldozer operator a while back. Right now, everyone has time to seek Christ’s forgiveness and come to the Kingdom, but that time is growing short. How do we know this? [Revelation 12:12]: Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” He has but a short time in which to do his wickedness and he knows it therefore his wrath and hatred of all things moral and Godly is being revealed – he is out in the open with it, daily hammering at the fortresses in which good people try to take refuge, so we must be sure the refuge we choose is the right one.
As believers in Christ, our Fortress is the solid Rock – Jesus Christ – which Satan, try as he might, cannot assail, and he seethes with rage against those of us who have chosen Jesus Christ in order to be victorious over this world of which the devil with all his riches temporarily has charge. Do not give in to the despair of watching the evils that are happening! The situation, as dire as it is for now, is not hopeless! We are not, nor will we ever be helpless, no matter how desperate things appear – that despair is one of the devil’s most lethal weapons and it works best against those who are faint of heart. Our hearts can be strengthened, though: [Psalm 27:14]: “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” We must be patient – Jesus spoke of the importance of patience in the last days, He even told us how as well as the importance of being patient, [Revelation 14:12]: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Yes – following His commandments and keeping the faith in Jesus results in our patience. Some things are still to take place before the end, among which wars and rumors of wars will plague humankind until the very end: [Revelation 14:12] “He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”
There’s are many places in Scripture that speak of patience such as one of my own favorites from the Apostle Paul: [2 Thessalonians 3:5]: “Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.” The point is that we must go against our human nature of impatience – no matter how dire the situation – and keep on trusting that God will take care of things in His time, no matter how urgent things might seem to us at a given moment.
Food for thought: Our prayers mean a lot to the Father: [James 5:16]: “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Since we realize our prayers can influence the Father, think about this. Our prayers have great significance when they reach His throne, He will take action: [Revelation 8:3] “Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.” Our prayers will play a big role in the events of the end times – before the very throne of God! We must never allow ourselves to believe our prayers aren’t important!
The human-induced events happening in the world these days may very well be connected to fires and floods. Worse punishment from God has been levied in the past because of human behavior. Remember Sodom. God is the Master planner – it may be that in the decadent places of the world God has chosen to show the wealthy just how impotent they really are in the face of His awesome power. For instance, we might indeed be impressed at the destruction caused by a 2,000 lb. bomb, but have you ever considered what it might be like to witness God’s devastation in a super volcano eruption, or how about a stellar nova up close? Mankind has it in his power to blow up a building or even a city, but the Almighty can take out millions of light years of stars and planets whenever He wants. Wildfires and floods in decadent cities are no problem for Him to set and spread with high winds of His mighty breath.
Satan might have the upper hand with human beings for now, but you can rest assured that’s about to change – and forever so. In the meantime, pray, just chill out and watch God work…
May the blessings of the Almighty God find and keep us.
MK