When Darkness Abounds

“You must keep watch,” Jesus said, ” for you do not know the day or hour of My return (Matthew 25:13 NLT). Only the Father knows when He will send His Son to earth to gather His children, but we have been given signs. There will be weather disasters, famines and disease, nations against nations, wars and rumors of more wars. Evil will grow in intensity. All of this is described in Matthew 24.

Are we witnessing this happening today? After all, there has always been weather disaster, and famines and war. Yes, but there is an intensity and an acceleration of all these events happening at the same time. Jesus described it best when He said in Matthew 24:8, “But all this is only the first of the birth pains with more to come.” As a woman is ready to give birth, the contractions grow closer together in pain announcing the birth is soon. Such is the world today; it grows in sin and disaster, arriving closer together, announcing the time of Tribulation is near. When the birth of Tribulation finally takes place, there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began (Matthew 24:21 NLT).

The assasination of Charlie Kirk in the USA is reminder of all of the above. There have been several political killings and attacks this year in the USA (and in other countries of the world) along with many threats against politicians on both sides. The Los Angelas Times headlined — A New Era of American Political Violence is Upon Us. It is all as Jesus told us it would be, but in these turbulent times of darkness, do not forget what else Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 NLT).

It is easy to let fear take hold, but do not allow it. Instead, let us choose to keep our eyes on Jesus, the Champion who initiates and perfects our faith (Hebrews 12:2 NLT). It can be seemingly impossible for us to maintain inner peace when chaos abounds. We cannot keep inner peace on our own. We need the peace that only Jesus can give. We continue in peace when we train the eyes of our hearts to stay focused, not on the corruption of the world, but on Jesus who calms the storms within us. When Jesus is in the boat, and He is always with us, then hold on and proceed forward; you will not drown in the storm.

Let us actively look for opportunities to share such peace with others who may be floundering in fear. Let us be kind to one another, holding up the weak, speaking words of God’s strength available to anyone who seeks it. It is a time in our world, perhaps for such a time as this, when evil seems to abound, to let our lights so shine that others would see the peace of Jesus reigning in our hearts no matter the doom and gloom that surrounds us.

In Jesus there is light in the darkness. In Jesus there is hope in despondency. In Jesus there is courage in the midst of fear. In Jesus we find all we need to get through anything at all. Only in Jesus Who is above all.