The Sustaining Word for this week was near completion Friday afternoon and only needed final editing. I could easily finish it this morning so we decided to go to our favorite Chinese restaurant. While enjoying our meal, news began flashing on TV screens around the room. “Thirty dead in Paris attack,” then upgraded, “sixty dead in multiple locations around Paris.” Of course, that was just the beginning with 127 listed as dead this morning. My almost completed Sustaining Word suddenly seemed inappropriate for the week. This ISIS attack capped off a week of tragedy, and terror, around the world. Watching national news broadcasts merely gives the tip of the iceberg. As I keep up with missions and missionaries around the world, I see stories of persecution, famines, floods, plagues, and smaller wars that go unreported by the major news sources. Endeavoring to write a word that sustains weary people through the week made me ask myself, “what is going through the minds of believers tonight with all that is taking place?”
For those who study the scriptures, we see both the Old and the New Testament has already recorded the prophecies about what is occurring. Yet, reading about it and knowing all the signs that will take place as we near Christ’s return, takes on a very different prospective when living in fulfilling prophecy. Pastors and evangelists have preached about it, believers have shouted praises about it, and prayed, “Come now, come even now Lord Jesus.” Now that His return may be approaching, how do we live? One of my favorite characters I often mention, Elijah, lived in and through his own prophecy.
Elijah prophesied to Ahab, As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before Whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain these years but according to My word (1 Kings 17:1). That was easy enough for him to prophecy. However, he then had to live through his own prediction without the benefits of rain. God didn’t transport him to a plush oasis in a distant country. God told him to go and to hide himself by the brook Cherith east of the Jordan River where He had commanded the ravens to provide for him. Day after day, Elijah sat and watched the little stream ebb smaller and smaller as he waited for the ravens to deliver his breakfast. Yet, he never panicked because he knew who sent him to this place of refuge. Elijah didn’t focus on his dwindling resources; he knew his hope was the Lord God. When the brook finally dried up, God had another unlikely resource to sustain him. The Spirit directed Elijah to a widow in Zarephath. The problem he encountered, all the food she possessed was a few drops of oil and a handful of flour—enough for one meal. I can only imagine what his male ego was screaming when he asked a poor widow for her last piece of bread. Yet, he knew the One who sent him there promised to provide for him and the widow’s household. The next day there was still a little oil and a bit of flour—and the next day, and the next day, and the next until he had lived in and through his own prophecy.
American Christians should be cautious about several misguided beliefs. First, the United State is not the center of eschatological prophecy. In fact, I cannot find any specific reference to America in the Bible. People tend to interpret signs of the time around events taking place in this country. The Gentile Church around the entire world and the nation of Israel should be the focal point of understanding. American constitutes one small part of the universal Church. A second caution is the emphasis even some believers place on ‘dooms-day prepping’. Ok, no problem with being prepared for disasters of any kind, but building bunkers, storing mass amounts of food, and stock piling guns and ammunition to protect one’s supplies does not flow with Biblical principles. Instead, Christians should focus, not on physical preparation, but on spiritual preparation.
Last year I wrote, Coming to Your Neighborhood (Sept 14, 2014), that the horrors taking place in other countries of the world can easily happen on a street in our neighborhood. Last night ISIS related web sites rejoiced over the terror attacks in Paris and repeatedly proclaimed, “The American blood is best, and we will taste it soon.”
Some might be saying, “What’s so sustaining about this week’s word?” For me it further confirms the truth of God’s Word—terrible times in the end but multiple promises He will sustain us during these difficult days. God provided for Elijah; He gave manna in the wilderness for forty years; Jesus blessed the fish and bread for 5000 and 4000 men. We must heed the words of Jesus, Be on guard! Be alert! (Mk 13:33); Be always on the watch, and pray (Lk 21:36). Don’t be like the people of Noah’s day going about daily life and not listening until it was too late.
Sustaining Word for the Week: I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope (Ps 130:5); The earth and the sky will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people (Joel 3:16).