These end times can cause a lot of angst as we witness the world fall apart at an exponential pace. Who could have imagined in January or February 2020 that we would still face the events that happened the last year and the increase that continues to happen in 2021 that will bring us more tribulations and trials stemming from the depravity of man through Satan?

The events of last year and in the present may have surprised us, but we should not be taken aback by them because we know such tribulations must happen. We know as time moves on, we will face adversity, but I didn’t think it would be at the pace we are witnessing.

If you are like me, I expected that things would begin to go downhill gradually, at a slower pace than what has happened and what is happening, but it did not. It is like we were blitzed by the enemy on multiple fronts to knock us off our feet.

We can expect more trials and tribulations because Satan wants us distracted and wants to divide believers, so our eyes are taken off God and our Lord and Savior. He also wants to distract unbelievers from seeking refuge in Christ. The faithful can discern what Satan is doing, and we are prepared to stand strong in God regardless of his tactics.

We can expect more and more troubles to come, including an expanse of persecutions against the faithful. We can expect more diversions and tactics to divide us that are coming from the minions and plans of Satan.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 states, “But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.” The God of the universe is faithful to believers.

He won’t throw us to the lions to be consumed because He is faithful to His promises. All we must do is trust Him and His ways so that, regardless of what happens, we are in Him and are steadfast in Him.

This does not exclude us from the looming increase in trials and tribulations as we await the rapture. In John 16:33, Christ stated, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Instead of having angst, we should be encouraged by the events unfolding around us. We are eternal beings temporarily pilgriming in this world. Each day that comes and passes is another day closer to the rapture and eternity with our beloved Father in Heaven.

There are believers that do not see it this way. They fear what is occurring. They are terrified of what the next day will bring, of how much worse things will get. Their faith is beginning to wane, and they are slipping into despair instead of rejoicing in our faith and the hope in God. Instead, they are looking to man and the world to make things better.

Many church leaders are to blame for this fear and misplaced faith that envelops believers. Instead of teaching truth, even the hard truths, they look for ways to tickle ears through messages that make people feel good about themselves. They refuse to provide preaching on events related to what we are facing today in the world as prophesied in the Word, as well as the coming rapture of the church.

Pastors are doing a disservice to the souls of their congregants by only feeding them feel-good messages, giving them a false sense of security in the world instead of instruction on preparing for more trials and tribulations as the rapture nears.

The teachings these lukewarm pastors provide are only messages to help people not see the truth unfolding before them. The lukewarm messages are aimed at drawing people in so that they come back each week, so the pastor can stoke the congregant’s emotional responses of feeling good and that everything in the world is fine for them.

So, when these folks leave church on Sunday and face the world the rest of the week, they are blind and unprepared by what is going on around them – their pastors have not prepared them for spiritual battle. They are ripe for the picking by Satan.

Those misled congregants leave church each week and live their lives in a bubble of misinformation. They, due to poor leadership, believe having Jesus in their lives ensures they will not face trials or tribulations. And why should they not believe this? Because all they get is feel-good messages!

This is wrong. I mean, it is great to encourage people, but the hard truths tied to hope found in the Word of God need to be addressed. If not, they are misleading their sheep down the wrong road and are not preparing them for the spiritual battles going on around us right now.

Believers who can read the writing on the wall of what is happening and what is to come know we are in battle on multiple fronts; they know to turn to the Word and prayer to attain confidence and assurance of what must happen so we can go home with Jesus, to meet Him in the air in the rapture.

We can see the evil spewing out everywhere in the world through evil people, but we have confidence in God’s plan for the world and for man. No matter what Satan throws at us through those who worship him and are doing his bidding, we know God will not let us dangle in the grips of the world or leave us behind.

We trust in His promises to believers and Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins on the cross as our surety to heaven. As we hold on to our faith, we know He is with us today and will be with us tomorrow and each day thereafter until we go to Him in heaven and live in His holy presence for eternity. Nothing or no one can wedge us apart from our Father for this to happen.

We as believers need not angst about all the things going on or what Satan will do tomorrow because Christ has already won, and Satan is defeated. It does not mean life will be easy, but we can have peace in troubled times because of Christ’s victory over Satan. We know what the end looks like, and we are joyous of the outcome as relayed to us in the Word.

This brings peace to my heart. I know events are being shaped by God to finish His will for the world and for eternity.

I know we will face increasing persecution and trials as believers in the living God. There is no way around this, but we can face them with confidence in God in this world as we look forward to eternity with Him.

Knowing what the end of this era looks like should bring joy to our hearts, not enduring angst. In what we are going through and will go through as this concluding chapter in history closes, let us proclaim to those who listen that God is real, His Word is real, and the revelations of what is to come are sure.

In the end we should rejoice, not fear; praise, not worry. It is going to be a glorious day for believers when we are raptured – soon, I hope!

Johnflysaught@gmail.com

Psalm 27:1- “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

I think it is appropriate to talk about fear, especially in this time of world history. There is an abundance of fear happening before our eyes, a dread, per se, of what is going on. There is a fear of disease (COVID). There is the fear of the division in America of the left and right that has led to violence and may lead to more. There is fear of the social and political attacks of the Christian faith in the name of safety from COVID. There are many more, but I think these are the most prominent right now.

Psalm 27:1 asks the question of whom should we fear or be afraid of with God as our center? The answer, if you could not guess, is no one or nothing. With God at our side and as the God of the universe, we need not have a hint of fear in our lives.

It is easy to get sucked into a sense of fear. There is plenty of fearmongering going on in the media and social media sites. If paid attention to, or drawn into, fear is the likely outcome of spending too much time with those.

Instead of following the news or social media, may I suggest picking up your Bible instead? The Bible will not scare you but will bring you comfort and peace.

Isaiah 41:13 says, “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” God does not want us to live in fear. He does not want us to wake up each day wondering what bad things can happen or what ills we will face. He wants us to live in peace, not a worldly peace but a peace in Him, to rest in His presence.

We are not perfect and will get sucked into fear at times, but knowing that God is the God of peace and comfort for believers gives us that assurance that all is and will be well because His plan of redemption is still unfolding before our eyes.

In those moments where we find ourselves in fear, we can be confident that God is holding us and will take us through and out of the fear that envelops us. This is not a maybe but a surety that we can count on Him to be there for us and to hold us up.

We forget this at times when we let fear begin to invade our minds and thoughts. When we do this, we start sliding on a slippery slope of worry, which leads to stress and anxiety in our lives. When we fall into the trap of fear, it diminishes our trust and faith in God’s ability to supersede the fears we have.

Fear is like a cancer. Once it gets lodged into our minds, it will spread and overtake us, leaving no room for the peace and comfort that God has for us. This cancer will affect our spiritual walk with God and will eat at us until our trust in God to handle and oversee the world is gone.

With all that is going on in the world, has your fear brought you any comfort or finality to any of those issues we are seeing? I doubt it. I know people who, since March of 2020, have rarely left their residences because of their fear of COVID. This fear has been so ingrained in them that they refuse to leave their homes or, to a lesser extent, will not go beyond the grocery store and have isolated themselves so much that they are lacking the human contact that humans need.

I am not saying that there should not be precautions or that COVID is not real, but what I am imparting in this example is that if not kept in check, fear will eat you alive. Living in fear leaves no room for the power of God in one’s life. God implores us not to fear because He knows by succumbing to fear, He is pushed out of lives.

Psalm 34:4- “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

When faced with fear, we have two choices: let fear control you or turn to God. When fear makes its face known to us, this is when we need to seek God and not entertain the fear that is facing us.

When we seek God in the moments of fear, He will not shun us. He will not leave us or let us deal with it on our own. No, He is there for us and wants us to call upon His name to catapult those fears away from our minds before fear infects our hearts.

When we came to a saving grace through the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus, on the cross, we did so because we trusted that God DID send His Son. We base our belief not only on Jesus’ death but that the God of all sent Him. Why then do we fall prey to fear and have trouble trusting God in those times? In other words, why do we trust God with our salvation but not with fear?

I speculate that in the hearts of those that fear, there is a lack of trust in some areas of their life that God does not have control over the world and history. If one can accept that God is the orchestrator of history, that nothing happens without His approval or knowledge, then fear should not be a driving force in our lives.

You know who loves to see fear in us? Satan and the world. What a great tool fear is for Satan to drive a wedge between us and God. Who do you think is controlling the media and the world to project fear over man? It is Satan, of course! God will not send fear to man, but Satan will. He will and does because he knows that fear can and will draw some from God.

Satan is the propagator of fear. Fear creates chaos in our hearts, and he knows it will cause people to question the power and omnipotence of God in all situations. The unsaved fall for this, and sadly, so do believers.

The stronger your walk is with God, the stronger your relationship with Him is, the less likely fear will seep into your minds to take root and the eventual control of how you view the world and react to those things that cause fear. There is no strength in fear but only strength in and through God.

Psalm 46:1 says that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” How fitting is this reminder for the times we are living in right now, and as we walk into each new day as time moves on?

In times of trouble, Psalm 46:1 is telling us that God is here to help, that we can come to Him to rest and gain strength when we face those things that can cause fear. We can stand in His light and not be affected by the darkness that partners with fear. We can live knowing He is bigger than our fears and will protect us from the ills that fear brings with it.

I encourage you that when you feel a sense of foreboding coming, when a situation or whatever has fear tied to it, that you turn to God and only God. Instead of looking for another website to confirm your fears or going to social media to see what others are saying (fearmongering), pull out your Bible.

Open this sacred Book with the living words of God and read. Spend time in God’s word and search the scriptures to find the words that will give you the peace God wants you to have and the comfort afforded by Him, and pray.

Pray. Pray. Pray. Talk to God about your fears and how they are affecting you. Pray for peace in the storm. Pray for calm. Pray for assurance that He is in control.

We live in a time where fear is always at the forefront. Whatever those things are that cause your fear, there is peace and comfort through the Great I AM. God is in control — trust Him. God is not going to leave you or put you aside to face fears yourself. He wants you to turn to Him and is waiting for you to embrace Him.

Johnflysaught@gmail.com