Mission Endure 57: Trusting God Through Tribulation
One of the struggles we have when we are a believer in the Lordship of Jesus Christ is in determining what is our response should be when life seems as if it is spinning out of control. As we look at current events today it seems like the world is absolutely falling apart. There is little hope for the future and for our children’s future, and it is very difficult to see where this is all heading. Our society seems less and less interested in compromise and working through the differences so we can get along together and seems far more interested in making sure that our agenda is achieved regardless of the circumstances. I can’t watch the evening news without thinking that we are destroying our own country and then when I go to bed I can’t sleep because I am mad at what I just saw and heard on TV. This is about the same time that I normally come to my senses and realize that the Bible warns us this is what will happen. That normally helps me settle down a bit and stop worrying and understand that this is all in the Lord’s hands.
In Matthew Chapter 24, when the Disciples asked Jesus, “Tell us, when will these things happen and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” He responded to them with the following words,
”4 …“See to it that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 And at that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will arise and will deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness is multiplied, most people’s love will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Legacy Standard Bible)
I believe in the above text that Jesus was telling us to expect things to continue to get worse rather than better as we get closer to His triumphant return. We are going through some difficult times, and we are seeing people turn on each other. I hear people talk about wanting to return to the “Good Old Days,” but I don’t think we are ever headed back to the “Good Old Days.” We are continuing down this path until the Lord’s return and as in verse 13 in the above text, we need to be prepared to endure to the end. This is the verse we used to come up with the name for this website. Our goal is to help people who are about ready to give up hope to continue enduring to the end and never giving up. It will get harder and harder to do as we get closer to the return of Christ.
Later in Matthew 24 we see the prophecy of the return of Christ,
29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. (Legacy Standard Bible)
It will be a wonderful day when the Lord returns and takes us home to rule with Him in heaven. But, between now and then we face difficult times. I am sure that life will get increasingly difficult for believers. The world is constantly discriminating against us and our belief system. Christ warns us to be ready,
42 “Therefore stay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. 45 “Who then is the faithful and prudent slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know,
The Book of Revelation outlines how we will be moving towards a one-world government and religion. I believe this is the goal of those committed to rioting and destroying our American way of life. They want to destroy what we have so that it will be easier for Americans to move on to one government and one religion. I believe the ripple effect of this steady collapse will manifest itself through constant security issues like rioting, supply chain management, and food security problems. Promoting a general sense of disarray only results in more and more people doubting our current political and security systems and promotes the acceptance of new alternatives as they are announced.
So, how do we confront these problems when we see them in our community? Here are some helpful things you can do to keep us focused on the return of Christ
Pray: Pray for both God’s will to be done and for those who are suffering
Reading the Word of God: I don’t read the Book of Revelation to try to analyze current events. But, I do read the book of Revelation to help me get prepared. It shows us that the good guys, God's Team, wins in the end. We already know the final chapter to the story. Christ wins, and that gives me hope!
Understand that as bad as everything can get, God is still in control
Separating ourselves from what is going on in the world by focusing on being as prepared as possible
Plant a garden: I always feel better when I am harvesting my own fruit and vegetables, especially when I see the prices going up at the grocery store
Store a supply of food and water above and beyond what you need on a daily basis: Use the opportunities we have today to prepare for tomorrow
Invest in some alternative power sources, such as solar panels and a controller or a generator
A generator will bring you some stability by providing electricity for a short period of time, but it will only last as long as your gasoline or propane will last.
Solar will last indefinitely, but may not be as effective and convenient, and is more dependent on the weather
Become more proficient at outdoor cooking using wood fires
Cut expenses and try to live a simpler life
There is always something you can be doing today to prepare for tomorrow's chaos
Focus on the things we have control of not on the things beyond our control
There is always a problem in trying to take specific current events and read them into the book of Revelation timeline. So we have to be careful to only talk in generalities, not specifics. The Lord is coming back soon, and every day we live is one more day closer to His return. We need to expect to live with persecution and understand that he will come back soon.
God bless you all.