It is hard not to feel downcast and discouraged this morning as we continue to hear in the news about the absolute mayhem and chaos assailing the UK in these last few days. The powers of hell are alive and kicking and intensifying by the minute, which if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you will understand as meaning that Christ’s return is all the nearer.
Are we ready for His return? Are we ready for the onslaught that will be caused as a result of the tension between light and darkness tightening? Is the Christian population on its knees seeking God or are we still short-sighted and blinded by our own man-made enterprises with no biblical foundation? My stomach churns this morning as I hear of the madness and darkness engulfing the streets of the UK today. I am reminded of the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake and hurricane Katrina which left thousands of people homeless and with nothing left to call their own. No such event is taking place here, no such tragedy has hit our shores, and so one has to ask what is causing this pure evil in our streets if not a lack of discernment between good and evil, a lack of spiritual direction, of firm morals, and understanding of God’s sovereignty above all He created. The whole world seems to be spiralling out of control, and for once, man is beginning to admit and see that no intelligence, no scheme, no tactic will be able to get things back on track. We are finally beginning to see it is only by God’s grace that the world has come this far, or are we?
I don’t mean to be pessimistic or negative, but when will we acknowledge that apart from the Lord we can do nothing, we are nothing? The world and its leaders have been given ample opportunity for many generations to love God and to follow Christ, but we continue trying to do in our own strength what only God can do. The Church itself meant to be shining as a light, a city on a hill in this hour, it’s shining, but shining for its absence as it remains self-focused and self-serving. Where can the lost turn, where can those paralysed by fear turn, where can those looking for hope and a future turn when all many churches care about is inflating their membership lists and the egos of those at the helm who only care about being seen to have recognition and credibility in this world?
We need to get on our knees now and seek God with all we have, not on a Sunday morning or during our weekly prayer meetings, but right now in our homes alone or with others. It is only in that quiet place, alone with God, in humility, that we will be able to discern what God is saying to his people in this hour. It is only there that we will be equipped through the Holy Spirit with everything we need to face the darkness that is ahead, and able to encourage others in this most challenging hour.
Our nation and many others have had it so easy for so long. Oh Lord, how could we be so greedy and so blind? In our selflessness and security, in our complacency, we have simply forgotten that it is only by the grace of God that we made it this far, that we enjoy the wealth and the freedom we enjoy today; it is only by the grace of God that our prosperous nations are not on the news everyday at the hands of a famine which is exterminating and depleting at unstoppable speed. It is by the grace of God alone that we have food on the table, a roof over our heads, and clothes on our back. It is by the grace of God even and foremost that we have faith in the ONE who blessed us and yet allowed others in His omniscience to suffer hunger, disease, exploitation, abuse and slavery. What will it take for man to acknowledge the supremacy of God, the Holiness of Jesus Christ?
God said in Hosea 13: 6-8:
“When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. So I will come upon them like a lion, like a leopard I will lurk by the path. Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open. Like a lion I will devour them; a wild animal will tear them apart.”
Please pray for the UK as we navigate these turbulent waters. I was going to ask that we pray for the world’s economy but I know that what is happening today is all part of God’s plan and also it feels obscene for me to ask God to protect those nations which today are in danger of collapse as their economies come under threat, when there are already so many other countries in the world which for years have been at the mercy of others’ compassion and charity and so little has been done to help them, when we could have done so much more. It is at this hour that things will be revealed for what they were and are. The Christian books, ministries, conferences, training, etc investing millions of pounds and dollars to puff us up with knowledge when all along all that was asked of us was to love God and our neighbour. God have mercy on our souls, for we have failed to do the one thing which we had been asked to do. Our prosperity, our knowledge and our faith were freely given as a gift and a blessing to in turn touch the lives of others who don’t know Christ, and all we have done with such gifts has been to puff ourselves up with more things, knowledge and power which we did not need, as Christ himself is our rock, our foundation, our strength and our only hope. There is nothing left to do, noting left to say. This is a time to be still and simply repent with fear and trembling, to seek God, to humble ourselves and to seek forgiveness for so miserably failing to act on his simple command to love God and to love others as ourselves.
PRAY, PRAY , PRAY
