These are things I am seeing and hearing from people who understand how uncontained COVID is, who look at the economic disparity and complete lack of governance, a health system incapable of protecting its own workers, let alone doing anything more than easing the way into death for as many people as it can.
Selfishness. Rebellion. Violence. Willful ignorance. Pride.
These are things I am seeing and hearing from those who refuse to take the situation seriously, who believe that they can simply will life to return to normal by ignoring common sense, even accusing those attempting to implement even meager measures of containment of all manner of slanderous things, of fear, of tyranny, of political ambition, even satanic influence.
Do you know what is governing both of these
sides? SIN. Unchecked, unrepentant sin.
I don’t have any human solutions for you. There aren’t any. The world is where it is because it has forgotten and forsaken God. Aside from a small remnant of people who are faithful to Him (and before you, professing Christian, put yourself in that number, examine yourself, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” Matthew 7:14), God has given the world over to go its own way:
“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” (Romans 1:28-32).
The LORD God is going to devastate the Earth; He has been warning mankind from the beginning that His patience will come to an end.
“The LORD will roar from on high; He will thunder from His holy dwelling and roar mightily against His land. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on the earth. The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth, for the LORD will bring charges against the nations; He will bring judgment on all mankind and put the wicked to the sword,’ declares the LORD.
This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth. At that time those slain by the LORD will be everywhere - from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground.” (Jeremiah 25:30-33).
If you can look at the world today and still say with confidence that humanity is going to figure things out on its own, stabilize governments and economies, provide justice for the oppressed, and live in peace, then you are deluded. And if you continue to think that way until your death, you are cursed:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the LORD...all who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away from You will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water.” (Jeremiah 17:5, 13)
Whether you are frightened of COVID or not, be frightened of this! Nothing happens in this world without God’s knowledge or ordination. May the LORD open your eyes and your heart to His truth. He has infinite love, yes. He created love! He IS love. But you need to know God’s definition of love and His conditions for pouring it out:
“Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’” He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.” (John :37-39)
Don’t you see the ultimatum put before mankind?
In Psalm 9-10, we see two kinds of people in the world: those who seek and trust God, and those who do not. That is the only true division of mankind, no matter what your positions on race, gender, or class. Your opinion does not matter to God; only God’s opinion matters to God, and He has given it to us in the Bible.
Don’t you see the immensity of this gift? He didn’t have to say anything to us! He could have destroyed us all without warning! He is GOD. But instead, He shows us what He desires from us.
A few passages that describe God’s view of wickedness:
“The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.” (Psalm 9:17) [NOTE: ‘nations’ is often used to describe a large number of people; it doesn’t necessarily mean individual countries, rather, all those within the earth who ‘forget God’.]
"In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.
He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
His ways are always prosperous; Your laws are rejected by him; he sneers at all his enemies.
He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.” He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.
He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent. His eyes watch in secret for his victims; like a lion in cover he lies in wait. He lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.
He says to himself, “God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees.” (Psalm 10:2-11)
This is the most extreme arrogance: “I don’t need God. Furthermore, God doesn’t see what I do, He doesn’t care what I do, and even if He did, He couldn’t stop me.”
This is the attitude that will bring down the wrath of God onto your head. And it is, by and large, the most prevalent attitude in the world today. Because the God of the Bible is the true God, the only God, the Creator of the universe. And He has clearly stated that the only way to receive His love and mercy is to repent, confess your sin, proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord of all, and to entrust your entire being - body, mind, heart and soul - to Him:
“...because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 10:9-11).
There are no guarantees in a world that is falling apart from plague, natural disasters, resource shortages, foolish leaders, avarice, war.. Your wealth, if you have it, won’t save you. Your ethnicity won’t save you. Your political beliefs don’t guarantee you safety. Your geolocation won’t save you. Your own brain can’t save you. Medicine can’t save you. Your education, your job.…
Whatever it is that you are trusting in
is subject to destruction at any moment.
And it has always been that way.
Our global awareness serves God, in that we all have access to His warning bell.
To reject His salvation in the face of all
this is the height of arrogance.
And your arrogance, left unrepented, is going to be the cause of your destruction.
Up is now down; right is now wrong; black is now white; sick is now healthy; freedom is now slavery; love is now hate; sin is now law.
The only thing that has not changed and cannot
change is the Word of God.
He is the only place you can safely put your
trust:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17)
“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19)
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)
“Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.” (Psalm 102:25-27)
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful— for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13)
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” (Isaiah 40:28)
YOU. CANNOT. SAVE. YOURSELF.
You will be alone, in torment, for eternity.
What more do you have to lose before you consider the fact that GOD is the missing piece to this horrible puzzle?
Abandon your pride! Do something old-fashioned: fall on your knees before God, before Christ, who loves you, who willingly became human, died in torment, and bore the weight of every sin ever committed so that you would have the opportunity to be made righteous through His blood. REPENT of your sin - acknowledge that you cannot be good in the sight of God, that you are powerless, that you need Him and desire Him to secure your life in Him.
“‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’” (Jeremiah 6:16).
ASK, “Where is the good way?”
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the
truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
(John 14:6)
Psalm 9:10 says, “Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You.”
Psalm 9:18 “But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.”
The Bible often talks about the poor and needy, and at times, it is physical destitution being discussed. But even then, there is a deeper meaning that only becomes clear when you have a proper understanding of what God considers true neediness - what humanity is utterly lacking: HIMSELF.
To God, all people are born utterly impoverished, because they lack His Spirit. When someone puts their trust in Him, in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, He unites His Spirit with theirs, they become heirs of eternal life and unimaginable riches.
Since we are all equally needy in God’s eyes, when scriptures specify the ‘needy’, they are talking about people who acknowledge this lack in themselves before God. This is called humility, and it is in opposition to pride.
Those whom God protects and saves are those who humble themselves and throw themselves on God’s mercy. They do not think that they can save themselves; they do not think that a system can save them, or science, or anything else they can think of. They repent of ever living without any regard for God. God allows them to see that they are afflicted with this deadly plague of sin, and they commit themselves to God’s mercy.
This is the meaning of Psalm 10:14: “But You, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; You consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.”
Whatever befalls them on Earth, then, becomes only a momentary suffering in light of the joys of eternity. This frees those of us who put faith in God to lay aside worry and fear and commit to do God’s will. Even if we get sick and die, lose family and friends, are killed in an untimely fashion, whether by violence or disaster or starvation, death is the end of our sorrow. In the moment of our death, we are ushered into FOREVER with the LORD.
Don’t you want to be at peace in the middle of this chaos? Don’t wait for your government or a revolution or a vaccine or a justice movement. Come meet the only One who can and will save you! His mercy is not only for those who can pay - no human can.
The Lord Jesus has paid your debt in full; all you need to do is repent and trust in Christ's blood, and He will make you a child of God, an heir to all He is.
"The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life." (Revelation 22:17)
“At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Do you not hear how earnestly He is calling you?
Father, by the power of Your Spirit and in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, I pray that You will open the eyes of their hearts to Your Truth. Save them, Lord, and glorify Your name! For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return
without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing
seed to sow and food to eat, so Your word that proceeds from
Your mouth will not return to You empty, but it
will accomplish what You please, and it will
prosper where You send it.
