Paul says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). Paul is telling us, in essence, “All who follow Jesus are blessed with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, where Christ is.” What an incredible blessing.
Noah lived in a generation that had spun out of control. Violence and murder were rampant and unspeakable wickedness had spread wantonly.
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth … And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth … So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them’” (Genesis 6:5-7).
We are living in a time of the greatest gospel revelation in history. There are more preachers, more books, more gospel-media saturation than at any time in history. Yet there has never been more distress, affliction and confusion among God’s people. Pastors today design their sermons just to pick people up and help them deal with despair. They preach on God’s love and patience, reminding us that he understands our times of discouragement. We are told, “Just hold on. Be encouraged. Even Jesus felt forsaken by his Father.”
The Lord told Peter, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).
Clearly, belonging to Jesus’ church means more than merely believing in him. Many Christians today “cast a vote for Jesus,” but then they walk away and forget all about his lordship over their lives. Our Lord makes it clear that belonging to him involves living a life of self-denial and taking up a cross. “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38).
In Isaiah 51, the Lord delivers a powerful message to all who pursue righteousness. He declares, “Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the Lord” (51:1). A few verses later, he again calls to those “who know righteousness, you people in whose heart is My law” (51:7). When Isaiah delivered this message, his immediate audience was Israel, yet God directs this call to every devoted believer today — everyone who would pursue Jesus with a greater passion. Later God addresses his hearers as “you afflicted, and drunk but not with wine” (51:21).
Consider one of the most powerful promises in all of God’s Word: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
Any discussion on sufferings and trials must begin with the most despairing believer of all time — a righteous, faithful, God-fearing servant, devoted to prayer and worship. Yet, when sorrow and trouble overwhelmed his life, this same man began to make some very disparaging remarks about God at the height of his suffering. “If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He was listening to my voice. For He crushes me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds without cause” (Job 9:16-17).
“War broke out in heaven” (Revelation 12:7).
We hear a lot of talk today about war — war on terrorism, war in the Middle East, nuclear threats from various nations. Never in history has there been such a time of war throughout the earth. And because of the instant communication we have now, almost immediately we receive reports of bombings, ambushes, death tolls.
Are you in a frightening place right now? Do you feel hopeless, empty, stripped to nothing? I say to you, your trial will pass but what does God expect of you now, in the midst of it?
When God says to humankind, “Believe,” he demands something beyond reason. Faith is totally illogical and its very definition has to do with something unreasonable. Think about it: Hebrews says that faith is the substance of something hoped for, the evidence that is unseen (see Hebrews 11:1). We are being told, in short, “There is no tangible substance or any evidence at all.” Yet we are asked to believe.