“… Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
God breathed across the valley of dry bones and brought Israel back to life when it became a nation in May 1948. God promised that national Israel would be back in its land as one people, no longer divided between the Northern and Southern kingdoms (Ezek. 37:11–20).
Yet, as Israel celebrates its 76th anniversary this month, it is once more in the crosshairs. The war against Islamic terrorist groups continues, as do anti-Israel protests. Further threats from Iran and its allies set the nation on edge. Some American political leaders pressure the Israeli government to change its ways or change its leadership. Even before the recent college campus riots, Hillel.org, a leading Jewish campus organization reported that antisemitic incidents have increased by 700 percent.
These demonstrations ratcheted up as college campuses grew increasingly tense and, as witnessed at Columbia University, became violently destructive. Joshua Arnold, writing for the Washington Stand, compared the hapless college administrators to “4-year-olds trying to catch a runaway tractor.” Some experts suggest riots and violence will escalate as the 2024 election approaches.
A World on Edge
The world feels like a simmering pot of hot water just a few degrees away from boiling over. Wars and rumors of war engulf every continent. Political turmoil divides countries. Riots destroy buildings. Millions of illegal immigrants continue to pour into America, causing some to be concerned that a sleeper cell army could usher in a reign of terror from shore to shore.
The church is under attack from within and without. A pastor in Nigeria was recently killed for his Christian faith. A church and Christian village in Azerbaijan was destroyed by national authorities and a new mosque is being built in its place. The homes of Coptic Christians in Egypt were set on fire recently by Muslim extremists who were upset over rumors about the planned construction of a church building, reports the Christian Post.
Apostasy and false doctrine are proclaimed with increasing frequency from some reprobate pulpits in America. Some pastors who hold to the core truths of the Christian faith refuse to speak about anything remotely considered a controversial issue. An even greater number of pastors might consider the kinds of things discussed in this article as a useless distraction.
Add to this list the fact that rising inflation forces people to make difficult decisions about their livelihoods. SmartAsset raised a lot of eyebrows when it recently reported its findings in a 2024 study that suggests on average, a family of four would need to make at least $200,000 annually to live comfortably in a typical major U.S. city. A decade ago, that figure was at least half of that amount. Necessities are growing more expensive, and life’s little luxuries are now out of reach for many Americans.
These battles are not merely physical or financial, they are spiritual. Spiritual warfare permeates the world as the plague of sin spreads. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12).
Young students are flooded with messages of prophesied global doom due to so-called manmade climate change. They are scared that the world might end before they turn 40, so they pursue their heart’s desires. The words of Solomon thousands of years ago should strike a chord with this generation, “Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit” (Eccl. 2:17). Why even try to succeed if the world is headed for destruction via war, famine, disease or a climate catastrophe?
Where Is Our Hope?
This is enough to depress even the most optimistic person. How should Christians with a biblical worldview respond to all of this bad news and hopelessness? Should they respond, “Well, maybe the Rapture will happen before it gets much worse, so don’t worry about it.” Frankly, that rings hollow in the ears of many people. It is as if the only hope that Bible-believing Christians hold is the hope to get out of this mess.
Please do not misunderstand. I firmly believe in the pretribulation Rapture of the church. I am not making light of this Bible truth. However, my heart is to call Christians to a greater hope that will help us navigate these dark days. The real question is, “What is the object of our hope?”
There are noted similarities between how some Christians talk about heaven and how they talk about the Rapture. Some Christians long for heaven because they have some dear loved ones there. Some Christians long for heaven because they have lived a full life and their health has restricted their ability to enjoy life as they once did. Some Christians long for heaven because they are tired of the oppressive effects of this sin-cursed world on their lives and loved ones. Whether by heaven or the Rapture, they just want to get out of this bad-news world and get to a land of peace and rest.
One crucial thing is missing from those longings for heaven and the Rapture—God! None of those statements from the previous paragraph contain one mention of Jesus. He ought to be the object of the Christian’s hope, but sometimes Christian hope is based on lesser things. The streets of gold are worthless without the One who paid the price so that we could be with Him forever. The Christian hope must be anchored firmly in Jesus. Has God ever failed to keep a single promise? No, and He never will. The Christian hope is a firm expectation that God will fulfill all His promises just as He said.
Where Is Our Faith?
When Jesus slept in the boat amid a life-threatening storm, His disciples mistook His sleeping as a lack of concern about them (Mark 4:35–41). They panicked with fear as they thought they were going to perish in this storm while Jesus did nothing to stop it. In so doing, they displayed both their lack of faith in God and their lack of knowledge about God. Thankfully, Jesus was patient with them as He is with us. He had already told them they were going to the other side, but they did not fully accept that as a promise (Mark 4:35). Perhaps some of us are guilty of the same mistake today.
Jesus cared about what happened to His followers then and He cares just as much for us today. By sleeping on the ship, He was showing them what it looks like to rest our faith and hope in the arms of the Heavenly Father even when the storm is raging all around. He knew His disciples needed to draw nearer to the heart of the Father so that their faith would be increased.
This hopeless and faithless world needs to see a church that is anchored securely upon the solid rock of Jesus Christ. This is the church’s moment to, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).
God will keep His promises to Israel and the church. Christians should not give in to the temptation to fear the gathering worldwide storms; rather, they ought to rest in the arms of the Heavenly Father just as Jesus modeled in Mark 4.
Remember the words of Jesus, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
