WE ARE NOT TO BE SURPRISED

I must ask you: As the storm rages, are you going to the Lord in prayer? If you are, then you’re gaining strength, because your mind is becoming fixed on your heavenly Father’s love. In His presence, He continually reveals His power to you and encourages you that you will make it through.

It is not God’s will that any of His children face the coming perilous times with paralyzing fear; in fact, biblical prophecy and warnings should not frighten us. Jesus’ heart on the matter is stated very plainly:

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

WARNING US IN LOVE

Jesus prophesied of world events to come that sounded frightful. He spoke of wars, pestilence, earthquakes in various places. And He warned His hearers: “You are going to be afflicted, and some of you will even be killed. Iniquity will abound. False prophets and messiahs shall arise, deceiving many” (see Matthew 24:3 through 41).

Later in Matthew, Jesus explains that He forewarned of these catastrophic events so that we would believe in Him when we saw them coming to pass.

HE IS LORD OVER ALL

Jesus wasn’t trying to put a burden of fear on us. Rather, He simply doesn’t want us to be surprised when we are hit by awful storms. He doesn’t want our faith to be shipwrecked when we suddenly face incredible suffering. And most of all, He wants us to believe there is a Lord over all these awful things, a Father who is loving enough to warn us about them and keep us through them all.