Nobody wants to hear bad news and the church today is no exception; the American church seems to be preoccupied with a “feel-good” message. This attitude is prevalent in many of the books and magazines we find in Christian bookstores. It is almost as if our leaders are saying, “Relax! God is our Daddy and we’re all his kids and we’re meant to have a good time.”
A storm is coming and God wants his people to be prepared. It will come like a thief in the night, bringing sudden panic and disbelief. You may be thinking, “If calamity strikes, let it come! I’m in God’s hands, so Jesus will see me through.”
Just before his death and resurrection, Jesus stared into the face of a horrible coming storm. He saw that just ahead, Jerusalem would be surrounded by powerful armies, the temple would be destroyed, the city would be burned to the ground, and their entire society would collapse!
Now, Jesus was the very embodiment of God’s love and he wept over his society because he saw what was coming. “Then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved” (Matthew 24:21-22).
If we think about it, we see that Jesus’ day was very similar to ours: peaceful, calm and prosperous. Even as Jesus warned that a storm was coming, he continually sought out secret places to be shut in with his Father. Fully persuaded that God was with him, Jesus knew that he was in complete control!
Beloved, if we are going to face the coming storm, we need to be prepared so that nothing disturbs our spirit. We can do that only by spending time in the Father’s presence — shut in with him until we are thoroughly persuaded that he is at our right hand.
In the presence of Jesus we find joy, hope and rest — all that we will ever need!