Peace in the Midst of Horror

 

If you truly follow Jesus, then you are probably experiencing what many saints are feeling these days. Complete disgust, terror, and horror at what you are seeing.  Evil is surrounding us on all sides. What used to be called good is now evil and evil is called good and praised. It's an upside down world. There is a dark dark ominous cloud of wickedness that has swept over the entire world, and we know from Scripture, that it will only get worse.  As I was doing my Bible reading the other day, Isaiah 26, almost the entire chapter just popped off the page at me and sent a Holy Spirit warmth through my entire body. I encourage you to read it on your own, but allow me to give you the highlights that the Lord impressed upon me.

 

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.  Verse 3

If you're looking for peace in this end-times storm, the Lord gives you the formula right here. Notice there are conditions. You must commit yourself to Him, lean on Him and Hope with confidence on Him. Then your mind will naturally stay on Him! In other words, you can't keep your mind on Him (and get that peace) until you are fully committed to Him. 

 

Yes, in the path of Your judgments, O Lord, we wait expectantly for You; our heartfelt desire is for Your name and for the remembrance of You.
My soul yearns for You O Lord in the night, yes, my spirit within me seeks You earnestly; for only when Your judgments are in the earth will the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. V 8-9 

 

So true! We wait for the Lord's return. We yearn in the night for our God, for Him to return and judge the evil of this world and cause righteousness to blossom over the earth! 

 

Isaiah goes on to say prophetically how the Lord shows favor to the wicked, but they still do not turn back to Him! It says "they refuse to see the majesty of the Lord".  Don't we all wonder why the wicked seem to prosper and win in these days?  But Isaiah goes on to say: 

 

Though Your hand is lifted high to strike, Lord, they do not see it. Let them see Your zeal for Your people and be ashamed; yes, let the fire reserved for Your enemies consume them.  v 11

 

There is coming a day of judgement. Let that sink in when you see how the wicked appear to be winning all around you. Then we have this reference to the Tribulation time

 

As a woman with child drawing near the time of her delivery is in pain and writhes and cries out in her pangs, so we have been before You, O Lord. v 17

 

Don't we all feel that way from time to time? Like we are writing in pain before the Lord for all the evil around us, begging Him to come rescue us?  

God's answer comes in the next verses:

 

 Your dead shall live, O Lord; the bodies of our dead saints shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For Your dew O Lord is a dew of sparkling light heavenly, supernatural dew; and the earth shall cast forth the dead to life again; for on the land of the shades of the dead You will let Your dew fall. v 19

 

Yes! God's rescue at last! And if you think this makes no mention of the living being taken, He clarifies in the next and last verses: 

 

Come, my people, enter your chambers and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the Lord’s wrath is past.

For behold, the Lord is coming out of His place heaven to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also will disclose the blood shed upon her and will no longer cover her slain and conceal her guilt. 

 

Yes, the Tribulation is at hand when God's judgement and justice will set things right. Before that happens, the dead rise and we, who are alive, will be rescued and hidden away from the wrath of the Lamb.  So, be at peace with that. 

 

In the meantime, the Lord wants you to know, He's got your back! You are surrounded by His mighty angels. The enemy cannot touch you if you remain in the Lord, committed to Him, leaning on Him, and with your mind and heart on Him and things above. These are promises in Scripture that you can bank on!  So, yes, we can walk this earth in complete peace and assurance of our safety, our provision, and our glorious future!  

In case you're STILL not sure about a pre-tribulation rapture, my friend Lynn, sent me this article, which explores some other proofs I had not thought of before. 

Here's my last article on the the Pre-trib rapture

Here's the article Lynn sent.  Enjoy

Have a blessed week!!