But he welcomed any physical ordeal. He saw how a great strife with the elements, a strain to the uttermost of his strength and his passion to fight, would save his faith, his hope, perhaps his mind.”
–Zane Grey (Wanderer of the Wasteland)
“And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.”
–2 Timothy 4:8 (NLT)
————————-
The world is spinning out of control and that’s a fact. Maybe not in the physical sense, but in the moral and spiritual sense chaos, and confusion now seems to be the norm. The great conveyor of confusion–the devil must be smiling with glee as what he is causing in the world. However, despite his effort, God is in control.
With all the junk that is happening in the world, yes the world, not just in our country, we may wonder what in the world is going on. We should look at the words of Jesus,
“But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
–Luke 21:28 (NASB)
Maybe it’s my old age, maybe it is because of the confusion and chaos, but it seems that my heart is lighter. The past couple of days there have been a couple of songs going through my mind, besides the one I shared yesterday.
“Heaven is nearer, and the way growth clearer,
For I’m in the glory-land way.”
–J.S. Torbett
“O glory, hallelujah!
I am on the way to Heaven,
Shouting glory, shouting glory….”
–Herbert J. Lacey
How in the world then, can we have comfort in this crazy world? By knowing the Lord Jesus, and having His Word in our heart. There is no comfort apart from that. It is hard to be encouraged if we do not know the Word. The Holy Spirit always encourages through doctrine, and yet, doctrine is largely ignored today. No wonder those in the church are wandering, living as the world and not in it.
Here is something to ponder. The day that Jesus died is known as Good Friday. Now, why is that? It was a day of suffering and sorrow. A day of gloom and darkness. The Messiah was dead. But because of that Friday Jesus was able to defeat death, hell, and the grave as in shown in His victorious resurrection. Lloyd-Jones leaves us three questions about that day. If you understand the doctrine behind this you might just give a little shout.
1) Do we realize what eventuates from His going to that death?
2) Do we realize the blessings that followed?
3) Do we realize that He went deliberately in order that these things might come to pass?
Ponder those! No wonder it is called “Good Friday.”
Jesus always meets us right where we are. He prepares us for this present world and the immediate future. He made you a child of God and you can have confidence in that. He dwells within us guiding us through the confusion and chaos of this world and pointing us to that heavenly home that He has prepared for us.