Ready or Not, Here He Comes!
"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then the two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Matthew 24:36-44
Yesterday thousands of people across the country could be seen looking up into the sky with funny glasses on their eyes to witness a rare event that cannot be seen with the naked eye. I think one of the most awesome things about solar eclipses is how perfectly timed they are and that it's even possible for us to know when they are going to happen! In my opinion it's one of the coolest things we can see here in the natural world, and the fact that it only lasts a few minutes makes it even more special. If you're not ready for it you will surely miss it when it comes!
Over the last two months we have discussed the whole idea of being still, staying the course, not giving up, hanging in there, maintaining hope and never letting Satan gain a foothold in our lives or allowing him to discourage us as we fight this good fight. There is one more element to all of this, and that is...the end. We've talked a lot about the journeys we take, but what about the destination? When does God avenge us? When will we be repaid for "what the locusts were sent among us to destroy?" How long do we have to wait to see the end of our troubles?
Here's the short answer: I have no idea!
The passage we opened the blog with today speaks about the return of Christ. We're not going there today, but we are using that passage as an example of knowing about God's timing in our lives. When we are going through a tough season of life, we just want to know when it's going to be over, right? Like the eclipse yesterday, sometimes it seems that if we could just have the exact date and time to mark on our calendars it would make the suffering a lot easier! "On September 22 you are going to wake up and all of your circumstances are going to be worked out!" Awesome! Its really too bad that isn't how it works.
Scripture tells us over and over again that we usually have no idea about God's timing. His ways are higher than ours. A day to us is just a blink of an eye to him. He is not limited by space or time. His "soon" may not be our idea of soon! But there is ONE thing we can know about his timing. God has a certain style after all, and God's style is to work on our behalf SUDDENLY.
That is our key word for today: Suddenly.
When is the Son of God going to return someday? Suddenly.
When will your current trials be over? Suddenly.
When will your your prayers be answered? Suddenly.
When will you be avenged against your enemies? Suddenly.
When will God destroy the wicked? Suddenly.
When will you receive your blessings? Suddenly.
When God decides to move, he moves swiftly, and ready or not - here he comes! We are to always be waiting in hopeful anticipation because we never know when God is going to show up in our lives in a big way. This is true whether we are walking in God's will for our lives or not. Whether we are waiting for an answer to prayer or whether we are in a season of running from God, we cannot say that we were never warned to be on the lookout! He whispers and whispers and then suddenly - it's go time! It's why we should ALWAYS be living upright and righteously, because we never know when we're going to entertain the Lord.
Let's look at a few "suddenly" examples of why we shouldn't even be tempted to act like a fool and run from God:
"I have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling." Job 5:3
"But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly." Psalm 64:7
"Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing." Proverbs 6:15
"Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall." Proverbs 28:18
"He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing." Proverbs 29:1
God doesn't say, "Hey, straighten up or next Tuesday I'm going to take you out." But he does say, over and over again..."If you continue on in your foolishness I will suddenly take care of it myself." Scripture tells us that when the great flood came to destroy the earth, everyone was going merrily about their business, totally unaware that tomorrow would never come for them. They were getting married and partying and just living life! Then wham bam...gone. Don't you think those people had plans? Too bad. Are any of us promised tomorrow? Nope. Ready or not! (So always be ready!)
But God's "suddenlies" can also benefit us greatly. What about when someone is hurting us and God tells us not to take vengeance for ourselves because he will avenge. When will that vengeance take place? You got it - suddenly!
"But your many enemies will become like fine dust, the ruthless hordes like blown chaff. Suddenly, in an instant, the Lord Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of devouring fire." Isaiah 29:5-6
You will receive justice, don't worry. God is a great God of justice. And when it happens, it will happen quickly and just at the right time. Make sure you're not standing in his way by trying to seek your own vengeance because...ready or not! (Always be ready!)
God shows up in the suddenly. The bible is FULL of examples of people going about their lives, doing business as usual, and then God shows up and changes everything.
Joseph was in prison doing his daily routine and then suddenly he was promoted to the second highest in command in Egypt. Noah was suddenly called out and commissioned to build a giant boat which ended up consuming his life for around a hundred years. Mary, mom of Jesus, was suddenly approached by an angel who told her that she would bear the Son of God. God appeared to Moses suddenly in a burning bush. The shepherds were just spending another day at work when suddenly a multitude of angels showed up to proclaim the birth of the Savior. Saul was suddenly changed on the road to Damascus. Samuel, Isaiah, Abraham, Gideon...they all suddenly heard from God. All of these people had other plans when their lives suddenly changed forever. God can change your life in an instant. So always be ready!
One other thing we should also remember about God's timing is that while things may SEEM to be "sudden" for us, they are never sudden to God. I truly believe that God is always working behind the scenes for us, arranging all of the pieces of the puzzle, building a foundation, orchestrating our circumstances perfectly so that when it's time for God to act things begin to converge together all at once. From our point of view everything is happening very swiftly! But from God's point of view, this was a work he had been crafting for quite some time. What is happening in the natural often looks very different than what is going on in the supernatural that is at work all around us.
One of my FAVORITE examples of this is can be seen in the book of 2 Kings. The king of Syria wanted to seize the prophet Elisha, but God had other plans....
"So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city. When the servant of the man of god rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" He said, "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see." So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, "Please strike this people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha." 2 Kings 6: 14-18
Whoa, can you imagine?! Elisha and his servant were surrounded on all sides by a great army. Naturally, the servant began freaking out...but that's because he was thinking, well...naturally. He couldn't see the supernatural work that was going on all around him. So Elisha prayed for his spiritual eyes to be opened and suddenly the servant was able to see GOD'S army which had been sent to protect them. Don't you sometimes wish you had "supernatural glasses" to see God's protection for you? I don't know though, there are some things I'm glad I can't see!
That's all I could think about yesterday as I was continually putting glasses up to my eyes to gaze at the sun and the amazing things that were taking place right in front of me. Without those glasses I would have been blinded and wouldn't have been able to see anything at all. With those glasses, I could see spectacular things. Our spiritual glasses can be represented by our faith in God. We don't have to physically see his presence to know that it is there! Had I not been equipped with glasses yesterday, I still would have believed the eclipse was happening whether I could see it or not. Our faith in God gives us the ability to believe and trust, even when we cannot see our way around in the natural. God's supernatural power wins for us every time if we put our trust in him!
Yes, that eclipse was perfectly timed, it was swift, and it was AWESOME! So is the timing of God in our lives. Never trust what you see and hear in the natural, but hold fast to the promises of God and trust that he is orchestrating things exactly as they need to be! Always be ready for him to show up, because unlike that eclipse, God likes to show up when we least expect it! While we can't know the exact end to all of our trials, we can trust that there will be an end. God is always going to act swiftly for us at just the right time and when he does, it will BLOW us all away!
Don't trust with your eyes today. Trust with your heart! Hope you all have a great day!
Yesterday thousands of people across the country could be seen looking up into the sky with funny glasses on their eyes to witness a rare event that cannot be seen with the naked eye. I think one of the most awesome things about solar eclipses is how perfectly timed they are and that it's even possible for us to know when they are going to happen! In my opinion it's one of the coolest things we can see here in the natural world, and the fact that it only lasts a few minutes makes it even more special. If you're not ready for it you will surely miss it when it comes!
Over the last two months we have discussed the whole idea of being still, staying the course, not giving up, hanging in there, maintaining hope and never letting Satan gain a foothold in our lives or allowing him to discourage us as we fight this good fight. There is one more element to all of this, and that is...the end. We've talked a lot about the journeys we take, but what about the destination? When does God avenge us? When will we be repaid for "what the locusts were sent among us to destroy?" How long do we have to wait to see the end of our troubles?
Here's the short answer: I have no idea!
The passage we opened the blog with today speaks about the return of Christ. We're not going there today, but we are using that passage as an example of knowing about God's timing in our lives. When we are going through a tough season of life, we just want to know when it's going to be over, right? Like the eclipse yesterday, sometimes it seems that if we could just have the exact date and time to mark on our calendars it would make the suffering a lot easier! "On September 22 you are going to wake up and all of your circumstances are going to be worked out!" Awesome! Its really too bad that isn't how it works.
Scripture tells us over and over again that we usually have no idea about God's timing. His ways are higher than ours. A day to us is just a blink of an eye to him. He is not limited by space or time. His "soon" may not be our idea of soon! But there is ONE thing we can know about his timing. God has a certain style after all, and God's style is to work on our behalf SUDDENLY.
That is our key word for today: Suddenly.
When is the Son of God going to return someday? Suddenly.
When will your current trials be over? Suddenly.
When will your your prayers be answered? Suddenly.
When will you be avenged against your enemies? Suddenly.
When will God destroy the wicked? Suddenly.
When will you receive your blessings? Suddenly.
When God decides to move, he moves swiftly, and ready or not - here he comes! We are to always be waiting in hopeful anticipation because we never know when God is going to show up in our lives in a big way. This is true whether we are walking in God's will for our lives or not. Whether we are waiting for an answer to prayer or whether we are in a season of running from God, we cannot say that we were never warned to be on the lookout! He whispers and whispers and then suddenly - it's go time! It's why we should ALWAYS be living upright and righteously, because we never know when we're going to entertain the Lord.
Let's look at a few "suddenly" examples of why we shouldn't even be tempted to act like a fool and run from God:
"I have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling." Job 5:3
"But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly." Psalm 64:7
"Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing." Proverbs 6:15
"Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall." Proverbs 28:18
"He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing." Proverbs 29:1
God doesn't say, "Hey, straighten up or next Tuesday I'm going to take you out." But he does say, over and over again..."If you continue on in your foolishness I will suddenly take care of it myself." Scripture tells us that when the great flood came to destroy the earth, everyone was going merrily about their business, totally unaware that tomorrow would never come for them. They were getting married and partying and just living life! Then wham bam...gone. Don't you think those people had plans? Too bad. Are any of us promised tomorrow? Nope. Ready or not! (So always be ready!)
But God's "suddenlies" can also benefit us greatly. What about when someone is hurting us and God tells us not to take vengeance for ourselves because he will avenge. When will that vengeance take place? You got it - suddenly!
"But your many enemies will become like fine dust, the ruthless hordes like blown chaff. Suddenly, in an instant, the Lord Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of devouring fire." Isaiah 29:5-6
You will receive justice, don't worry. God is a great God of justice. And when it happens, it will happen quickly and just at the right time. Make sure you're not standing in his way by trying to seek your own vengeance because...ready or not! (Always be ready!)
God shows up in the suddenly. The bible is FULL of examples of people going about their lives, doing business as usual, and then God shows up and changes everything.
Joseph was in prison doing his daily routine and then suddenly he was promoted to the second highest in command in Egypt. Noah was suddenly called out and commissioned to build a giant boat which ended up consuming his life for around a hundred years. Mary, mom of Jesus, was suddenly approached by an angel who told her that she would bear the Son of God. God appeared to Moses suddenly in a burning bush. The shepherds were just spending another day at work when suddenly a multitude of angels showed up to proclaim the birth of the Savior. Saul was suddenly changed on the road to Damascus. Samuel, Isaiah, Abraham, Gideon...they all suddenly heard from God. All of these people had other plans when their lives suddenly changed forever. God can change your life in an instant. So always be ready!
One other thing we should also remember about God's timing is that while things may SEEM to be "sudden" for us, they are never sudden to God. I truly believe that God is always working behind the scenes for us, arranging all of the pieces of the puzzle, building a foundation, orchestrating our circumstances perfectly so that when it's time for God to act things begin to converge together all at once. From our point of view everything is happening very swiftly! But from God's point of view, this was a work he had been crafting for quite some time. What is happening in the natural often looks very different than what is going on in the supernatural that is at work all around us.
One of my FAVORITE examples of this is can be seen in the book of 2 Kings. The king of Syria wanted to seize the prophet Elisha, but God had other plans....
"So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city. When the servant of the man of god rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" He said, "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see." So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, "Please strike this people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha." 2 Kings 6: 14-18
Whoa, can you imagine?! Elisha and his servant were surrounded on all sides by a great army. Naturally, the servant began freaking out...but that's because he was thinking, well...naturally. He couldn't see the supernatural work that was going on all around him. So Elisha prayed for his spiritual eyes to be opened and suddenly the servant was able to see GOD'S army which had been sent to protect them. Don't you sometimes wish you had "supernatural glasses" to see God's protection for you? I don't know though, there are some things I'm glad I can't see!
That's all I could think about yesterday as I was continually putting glasses up to my eyes to gaze at the sun and the amazing things that were taking place right in front of me. Without those glasses I would have been blinded and wouldn't have been able to see anything at all. With those glasses, I could see spectacular things. Our spiritual glasses can be represented by our faith in God. We don't have to physically see his presence to know that it is there! Had I not been equipped with glasses yesterday, I still would have believed the eclipse was happening whether I could see it or not. Our faith in God gives us the ability to believe and trust, even when we cannot see our way around in the natural. God's supernatural power wins for us every time if we put our trust in him!
Yes, that eclipse was perfectly timed, it was swift, and it was AWESOME! So is the timing of God in our lives. Never trust what you see and hear in the natural, but hold fast to the promises of God and trust that he is orchestrating things exactly as they need to be! Always be ready for him to show up, because unlike that eclipse, God likes to show up when we least expect it! While we can't know the exact end to all of our trials, we can trust that there will be an end. God is always going to act swiftly for us at just the right time and when he does, it will BLOW us all away!
Don't trust with your eyes today. Trust with your heart! Hope you all have a great day!
Great article !
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
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