This is not the kind of blog post I want to write. I have never written a blog post like this before, and although I am not excited to write it, I believe I need to write it. Please bear with me as I try to articulate my thoughts.

Photo by Jilbert Ebrahimi on Unsplash

There is a thick, smoky fog covering the earth. It’s not from a weather event, although we have had some intense weather this year. It’s not from any human made production, like construction or demolition. It’s not from an astrological phenomenon like a meteoric collision. It is the dark gray thickness of evil. The evil of deception, manipulation and avarice. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon wrote:

The Teacher says, “Useless! Useless! Completely useless! Everything is useless.” What do people really gain from all the hard work they do here on earth? People live, and people die, but the earth continues forever. The sun rises, the sun sets, and then it hurries back to where it rises again. The wind blows to the south; it blows to the north. It blows from one direction and then another. Then it turns around and repeats the same pattern, going nowhere. All the rivers flow to the sea, but the sea never becomes full. Everything is boring, so boring that you don’t even want to talk about it. Words come again and again to our ears, but we never hear enough, nor can we ever really see all we want to see. (Ecclesiastes 1: 2-8 New Century Version)

King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, according to the Bible, penned the words of Ecclesiastes. He is bringing to the forefront of our consciousness that nothing that we do, or think, or gain in this life means anything outside of our interactions with God. Without God, we spin in endless circles of our own making, trying to plan our own destinies and build our own kingdoms…to no avail in the end. Nothing we do without God will last. No matter who you are or how much you have, you will die and be forgotten and life will go on…at least according to Solomon. Those words are sobering and, if I’m honest, frightening.

Solomon’s view of his world became dismal and cold because he realized that everything the world had to offer has limitations and consequences. Those limits and consequences led to emptiness, depression, lack and want. It is because the things of the world are temporary and offer no lasting solutions to our inner desires, hopes and connections. The things of the world are vanity.

Fast forward to the present. We are living in a time where as fast as things happen, and as fast as we expect things to happen, we are still left disoriented and hollow if we are waiting for the world to answer our heart’s questions. This has become such a prolific perspective of our culture today. We are more concerned with our own needs and see things with the bias of our own wants that we have become desensitized to the needs of others, or the purposes of God. We have become blinded by our own selfishness and the darkness has had the opportunity to deceive and flourish. If it can be given a form it would be a deep, thick fog.

This fog of evil brings with it a dense heaviness that causes chaotic, random behavior and dark depressive intentions in the people it covers. It covers everything we see and hear and infiltrates our souls. It is persistently trying to cover us by spreading out into our thoughts, our emotions and our actions like a thick, greasy oil; penetrating every area that is opened or exposed to it.
It has created an epidemic of anxiety, fear, hate and intolerance among us. It makes us long for better days, brightness, ease of life, peace and comfort.

In one of the most harrowing and sobering conversations in the Bible, the disciples ask Jesus when the end will come:

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24: 4-14 King James Version)

There are signs that things are changing for the worse. Jesus speaks of these things in Matthew. We are on the precipice of the season of the “beginning of sorrows” as Jesus refers to it. These things are anxiety inducing and are becoming more real to each of us as we live in the dark climate of our world today. We have seen shocking demonic imagery in entertainment, celebrities participating in seemingly ritualistic acts during their performances, and even recently, the offensive artistic choices of the Paris Olympic committee during both the opening and closing ceremonies. These things have been stark demonstrations of the world’s cultural turning away from God and the disregarding of those of us who follow Jesus Christ.

This anti-Christ mindset is becoming “chic” and much more prevalent in our world. And those of us who follow Jesus and draw away from or disagree with this godless, worldly perspective are being put in danger of being persecuted. Although this is often hard to imagine living in a country like the United States, Jesus himself reminds us, His followers, that “blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5: 11, 12) This was Jesus’ gentle way of letting His disciples and us, His followers, know, that persecution is coming.

Christian persecution may be different in different places and cultures, but it is all ramping up, as the darkness of these “end of days” unfold. As I referenced in Matthew 24 earlier, these days hold great difficulty, chaos, and disconnection from God. The scripture warns that regarding even God’s own, that “the love of many shall wax cold.” This coldness toward God has been due, in part, to the pressure of the world’s culture to be accepted, valued and embraced by other humans through things like social media, politics, movements, entertainment, and on and on. Many followers of the faith, sadly, will succumb to choosing the ways of the world over God.

Recently in America, the election of a new president, which should move a nation towards hope, has become a source of continued division. This election year has incited great anxiety among voters who have been wearied by the manipulation, deceit and greed of politics and political parties. Pandering to groups for votes without regard for their well-being has been the strategy of some in government with overt political agendas, while concerned citizens are being punished for speaking out about injustices, and “cancelled” for having differences of opinions. There is so much more division and strife and fighting in the world than ever before. Escalated conflict is happening in every aspect of human life, including within families.

Although electing a new president typically provides a major reset or shift in the culture of a nation, what is even more impactful to the nation is the overall outlook of the people. The way we view our present conditions and our future outcomes dictates how we show up and interact in our lives. This outlook, or in other words, the way we see ourselves and others, completely impacts our choices, priorities, worldview, and our relationships. It is quite literally the way we choose to live our lives each day.

Where this perspective is formed from is of vital importance. If we look to the things of the world to mold and shape our perspective, we will reap the world’s rewards…and judgements. If, on the other hand, we allow the Word of God to shape our perspective, then we will reap the rewards and develop the character of a Child of God, which is a beautiful thing but is often a difficult path to follow.

As the days become more and more evil, the choices we make become more defined. And demonstrate where our heart’s desires lie. And though we have free will to experience our lives as we choose, there is one stark and absolutely true reality about who we are guided by in our choices. We will either choose to turn to God, or to ourselves. Here is the bottom line…there are only two roads to be considered in the journey of our lives. The road to heaven (God) and the road to hell (our own desires). There is no middle ground. To believe anything else is folly and dangerous. We have to choose which road we will follow.

Joshua 24:15 says: “Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”
In this passage, Joshua is speaking to the people of Israel upon them entering the promised land that Moses had led them to by the divine hand of God. Moses died outside of the land, as a result of disobedience, and God appointed Joshua as the one who would enter into and bring the Israelites into the land “flowing with milk and honey” (Numbers 14:8).

Joshua is conveying to these newly arrived inhabitants of this promised land that they have a choice to make. Follow the pagan gods they left behind or follow the God that brought them to safety and hope. He conveys to them his decision to serve the Lord and explains that his choice is independent of others’ actions and that his commitment to do the Lord’s Will will not be altered by anything else.

Regardless of the state of the world, we are still required to make a decision about how we are going to walk through our lives. Will we stay trapped in the anxiety-ridden, acceptance-seeking, material-building ways of the world, with it’s chaos and burdens or will we run to the arms of a loving, caring and concerned Father, who has given so much for us to abide in Him? It is the only choice we have to make that will put us on the road to destruction or the road to life.

Consider this verse in 1 John, chapter 2, which describes the perspective of the person who chooses his own way and the warning John gives to those who do: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” ( 1 John 2:15-16)

There is hope.

It is not the world’s version of things being well. That version is never truly well or safe…or satisfying. Indeed, it cannot be based on what John describes above. The world is on a collision course with destruction and the judgement of God. It is ruled by the one who comes to “steal, kill and destroy”…Satan (John 10:10).
The true hope in this life is only found in the person of Jesus Christ (the Anointed One). Only He can provide a real hope that we will have “life more abundantly” (John 10:10). Only He can save us from the perspective/outlook of the world’s view.

How do we access this saving grace; this new and life-giving perspective?

Hebrews 4:16 answers this question by giving those who will act upon the answer, great promise: “Let us then, with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” The key to gaining this promise is to draw near to God’s Throne with confidence. To come to God confidently means to seek His presence knowing that He hears and responds to those who genuinely want to trust Him. This is a powerful revelation about the heart of God towards us and His intention to have a sustained, authentic relationship with us, His precious creation. In these tough days, we need the reassurance that we truly will be alright in the midst of so much darkness. Only God can minister that assurance to us.

As we navigate our daily walk, let it be an encouragement to know that we don’t have to go it alone…depressed, angry, sad, or anxious. We have a God who knows everything about us and our issues and concerns. He knows what we need and only He can give those things to us without causing sorrow or regret. Because God is the ultimate answer to our problems, we can answer the question “is the world broken beyond repair?” with “no, it is not…when you are walking with God.”

Receive this encouragement from Psalms 28…and allow yourself to rest in the promise that God will be your strength when you are weary and your shield from the darkness of these evil days, and when you trust in Him, you will be helped. Be blessed.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiced; and with my song will I praise him. The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.” (Psalms 28: 7, 8)

Until next time…vw1.