The Eternal God
He's got the whole world in His hands.
Disastrous weather events, horrendous wars, and woes of every kind encircle the globe, and there is no end in sight as modern media vomits out the seemingly endless toll of bad news in a 24/7 cycle that never seems to end these days.
As the tragic news of the damage toll and loss of life from the recent Hurricane Helena, war in the Middle East and other places continues to rise, along with the constant number of crimes, murders and other afflictions taking place here daily, I find myself assessing the vast amount of sorrow and struggle taking place in the world this morning as I awake and prepare for another new day and wonder what lies ahead.
Psalm 24 verses 1-2 reads: “The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”
How sad it must be to the Lord to see the current state of things with the full knowledge of all human history visible like a scroll to our Omniscient, all Merciful God in Heaven. Especially in light of what Genesis 1 verse 31 tells us:
“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good...”
Whether you are someone who views the Biblical timeline account as true history, or you take the long view of things like modern scientist who calculate the Big Bang occurred around 13.8 billion years ago, the fact of the matter is, a long time has passed and a lot of tears have been shed by the Creator from which all things find their existence.
It may be that you are of the mindset that such thoughts are all “hogwash”, as a man I met a couple months ago said to me during a Bible study I was conducting at a seniors facility where an uncle of mine currently resides. Nevertheless, after fifty years of studying the Bible and seventy-six years of living out the human experience in my own life, I prefer the Biblical timeline and am contented to settle for the short view of history myself.
This is especially true this morning as I am aware that my recent episode of heart failure has rendered me fairly incapable of measuring time exactly and my precious wife keeps reminding me that my short team memory is not functioning the way it was before I started taking the medicines designed to keep me alive - or kill me one. She has considered that either of these outcomes may actually be the plan of those who run the pharmaceutical industry today.
So it is currently 6:10am and in the two hours I have been awake to write this article I want to confess that my faith in the God Who gave me life, and who offered his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice on the cross of Calvary some 2000 years ago, retains my confidence steadfast and secure.
If indeed none of this is true and when I die I just die, some might think it doesn’t really matter one way or the other. However, if that is the reality of things, I still choose to believe and put my faith in Christ and the God of the Bible.
My wonderful wife and four children, ten grandchildren, my family, the host of friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, and the vast number of acquaintances I have met along my journey keep me holding on to God’s promises like the Scarlet Thread that Rahab the harlot of Jericho clung to believing the spies she protected would return to save her when the battle was over. (Joshua Chapter 2)
If you are of the same mindset as me, keep holding on to the thread of redemption God gave to those who believe. If we are wrong and it’s all “hogwash”, as the cynical visitor to my Bible study believes, it will mean nothing when we return to the dust.
But while we live, the Hope that comes with believing will console us and give us strength for the journey. And if we awake tomorrow to another day, we may see the return of Christ to close the final chapter of this part of the story and enter into the New Heaven and the New Earth where Righteousness, Peace and Joy awaits us in the eternal presence of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
13.8 billion years might seem like just a drop in the bucket once we find ourselves in the Heaven God has promised us just for believing in His Son.
Craig Marlatt