We all know that there are certain events today that bring fear to every one.
In many parts of the world, earthquakes and climate change cause devastation and deaths to people and properties. Typhoons, floods, landslides and the likes made huge destruction.
Uprisings and political instability are also seen in various parts of the world. Even the powerful nations suffer to economic collapse. And people fear for their lives because they suffer from things they do not experience before such as unemployment, budget deficits, poverty, scarcity and many more. Newly found diseases also created fear. Some of these diseases are until now incurable.
Some think that its the end of the world. Some lost their hopes and turned away from God and their faith.
Despite of all these happenings around us, how should we feel about them? What is the will of God regarding these fearful occurrences.?
What did Jesus Christ tell about the events of the last days?
(Mat 24:1-12) And Jesus went out and departed from the temple. And His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, There shall not be left here one stone on another that shall not be thrown down.
And as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
For many will come in My name, saying, I am Christ, and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for all these things must occur; but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Then they will deliver you up to be afflicted and will kill you. And you will be hated of all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another. And many false prophets will rise and deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will become cold.
Many of what Jesus told are already happening. And if these things are happening now, this will only mean that we are already in the end days. And the end of the world is really near.
What will testify more that we are indeed in the last days?
Paul the Apostle said that the times will be dangerous in the end days. The attitudes of many people will change. (2Ti 3:1-5) Know this also, that in the last days grievous times will be at hand. For men will be self-lovers, money-lovers, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, unyielding, false accusers, without self-control, savage, despisers of good, traitors, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; even turn away from these.
Servants of God know that these events will happen because these are all manifestations of what should come and what were written long before.
But if we are aware, the great tribulation mentioned by Christ has not yet come. Though the present events continue to bring fear, sufferings and deaths, but the one mentioned by Christ, which is the tribulation that has not happen since the beginning of the world will surely come and will signify that indeed the end of the world is approaching. (Mat 24:21) for then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be.
All these things must happen and some of us may witness them (God willing). Surely, God has a purpose in all these.
God allows these things to happen because these are all signs of His fury and anger to all people who did not follow His ways . (Isa 26:20-21) Come, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. For see, the LORD is coming from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their sins; the earth will reveal the blood that has been shed on it, and will no longer conceal its slain.”
The many events that continue to happen are all signs of God’s anger. Even in the old days in the Bible, God showed His wrath and anger because of the great sins of people. Some of these events have already happened and they will come again to remind us that wickedness of people are the root cause of all of it.
(Deu 28:15-20) ”But if you disobey the LORD your God and do not faithfully keep all his commands and laws that I am giving you today, all these evil things will happen to you: ”The LORD will curse your towns and your fields. ”The LORD will curse your grain crops and the food you prepare from them. ”The LORD will curse you by giving you only a few children, poor crops, and few cattle and sheep. ”The LORD will curse everything you do. ”If you do evil and reject the LORD, he will bring on you disaster, confusion, and trouble in everything you do, until you are quickly and completely destroyed.
God shows His anger through these events. (Isa 30:30) The LORD will let everyone hear his majestic voice and feel the force of his anger. There will be flames, cloudbursts, hailstones, and torrents of rain.
Do we have to be afraid of these events that are happening today and the things that will happen soon?
Who are those who will not be afraid of these happenings?
As a human, it is normal to feel fear. But to a servant of God, whose trust is high to the Lord, fear do not dwell in them. (Isa. 12 : 2) Isa 12:2 God is my savior; I will trust him and not be afraid. The LORD gives me power and strength; he is my savior.
Like David said, God is His strong refuge and the rock of salvation. He fears no one because of His trust in the Lord. (Psalms 31:1-3) I come to you, LORD, for protection; never let me be defeated. You are a righteous God; save me, I pray! Hear me! Save me now! Be my refuge to protect me; my defense to save me. You are my refuge and defense; guide me and lead me as you have promised.
When David was young, he was never seen to bear fear in his heart, and this was because of his great trust in God. He fought the lions that prey on his fold. He courageously conquered the giant Goliath. And he did it all because of his strong faith and trust in God.
The eyes of God are always for His righteous people. (Psalms 34:15) The LORD watches over the righteous and listens to their cries. Servants are assured that they will never be abandoned by God. Certain unfortunate events may happen but God will continue to save them. (Psalms 34:19) Good people suffer many troubles, but the LORD saves them from them all;
A servant may experience sufferings and extraordinary tests, but will hold on to his trust and faith in the Lord. He will continue to be strong, as long as the Lord gives them strength. (Job 17:7-9) My eye also is dim from grief; and all my members are like a shadow. Upright ones shall be amazed at this, and the innocent shall stir himself up against the ungodly. The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he who has clean hands adds strength.
(Psalms 24 : 4 – 5) He who has clean hands and a true heart; whose desire has not gone out to foolish things, who has not taken a false oath. He will have blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
What does the Bible advise us to do ?
(Psalms 62:8) Trust in Him at all times; you people, pour out your heart before Him; God is a hiding-place for us. All we need to have is to open our hearts in Him and trust Him that no matter what happens, He will surely keep us safe. If God is our refuge, there is nothing to be feared of. There is nothing we can bear if we put our trust in Him.
Trust God and lean not on any man’s understanding. (Psalms 112:7) He will have no fear of evil news; his heart is fixed, for his hope is in the Lord. Fear has the ability to control our minds and thoughts. It can disable us and make us weak when unfortunate things come. But people who trust the Lord are strong, they cannot be controlled by fear.
Fear is only in the mind. If our thoughts are always with God, fear will not overcome us. (Isa 26:3) The man whose heart is unmoved you will keep in peace, because his hope is in you.
In all these things, God is worthy to be praised and adored. He takes away our fears and will surely save us from His wrath. Let us give thanks and praise to God who saves us.
