Psalm 18:1, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
We are living in unprecedented times. No need to describe it because it is obvious- it’s falling apart. At this time in history, people are scared and confused because of how quickly life and freedom are changing. What we can be assured of is that regardless of what is happening, God is still with us and is still the Rock that we can stand on and not fear the happenings around us.
Every day there are occurrences of things going awry, or those things happening are getting worse. People are scared and frightened with the “new norm” that seems to change every day. A great number of secular people inherently know something is coming, but not knowing God, they are left to seek out the responses from the secular world of what is coming.
Just based on my little sphere in life, I see the same emotions happening to believers. They, too, are scared. Why? I can only guess that this stems from bad preaching or just being nominal Christians that are not in tune to the spiritual battles happening and what Bible prophecy says.
I agree that the world is falling apart socially and politically, but God is unchanging. As bad as things are getting, He is still our Rock. He won’t fail us or abandon us or leave us to fight alone.
The fear being perpetuated by the world and those of the world can become contagious to believers if they let their guard down. This does not have to be so. When we stand with our Rock, we are more aware of the times and intents of the world and the evil that is rampant.
Remember that God is our Rock! Do not give in to the ways of the world. Do not let yourself get caught in the snare of the lies and fearmongering happening in the world. Christians, we are in battle and are at the front lines of this battle. We will be weary, but we must not give up in the fight. We are in round 12 of this match and need to stay on our feet until the bell rings and we are victorious with Christ!
We must evaluate, through self-reflection, if we are living our lives on the sand or on the Rock. Sure, we say we are on the foundation of God, our Rock; however, it seems that as life in this world is falling to evil ways and people, some believers realize they have built their lives on the sand. And they either continue to live blindly on the sand or climb onto the solid and sure foundation of God, our Rock, which our faith calls for.
When we stand on the Rock and increase our faith and hope, we do not need to fear what is happening, nor will we be blinded by the evil schemes from Satan and those he controls to turn people away from turning to God. It is a fight to the end, even though victory on His part is sure.
There are many sitting on the fence of redemption today with all that is happening. They are not sure of what is going on in the world and are frightened. Some will turn to the world for relief, and some will jump to the side of the fence where there is redemption. This depends on if they respond to the call to come to Christ.
Christ calls each one of us. If we heed His call, accept Him and believe in Him, we are in Christ. If they do not accept but reject the call to grace through Christ, they are destined to hell. Period – no in-between, no halfway there. All in or all out.
Jesus calls unbelievers to grace continually. He knocks on the door of man’s hearts, and if one opens their heart to Him, accepts Him as their Lord and Savior, they become adopted sons or daughters of God through Christ. If they don’t and reject Him, their hearts will become black and hard, and they will no longer heed the call of Christ, nor will He seek them.
When one accepts Christ, He becomes their Redeemer to stand firmly in faith on. They no longer need to rely on the wishy-washy world for stability and comfort for a better future.
No longer is there a need to build their hope and lives on the sand, but they can stand strong on Christ’s death and resurrection, if they believe.
There is only one condition needed to stand on the Rock and the safety and surety that comes with it; it is receiving the grace offered by Christ. There is no cost for this; it is a free gift, no strings attached. It is a life and eternal changing event when one accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Satan will do his best to draw people away. That voice in their head and pull in their heart towards our Rock, Satan will try to drown out through the world. He will do his best to lead them away and quiet the calling voice to salvation by trying to convince them that they are either not good enough for salvation, or that God is not real, or that there are other ways to heaven other than through Jesus.
For those of us who believe — whether new to the faith or mature — regardless of what is happening right now in this world, in this chapter of history, He is still our Rock. He is all-powerful. He is never-ending. He will not leave us to suffer with the unbelievers when He judges the world.
Please don’t forget that God is our Rock. Through Christ, we became adopted sons and daughters of God. This is a contractual transaction, one of many in the Bible. God does not lie and will not break a contract, or covenant, if you wish to call it that. Once we come to Christ, we are bound together with God.
Many believers are weary. They are tired. They are beaten down. Don’t forget that we stand with the greatest Warrior in the universe. He will give us bread and water to keep us going, even when we don’t think we can. He will pull us and hold us through these tumultuous times until He calls us home or raptures us up with Christ.
Standing on the Rock assures us of victory for eternity. Building our lives and faith on the Rock ensures we will not fall victim to the plight of Satan and his minions as he influences the world to believe and practice actions contrary to the edicts of God, as found in the Bible.
Not well-versed in God as the Rock? Pick up that Bible and start reading. When we do this, we gain knowledge, wisdom, and confidence in God and our faith. Do this regularly. Satan is wily and will do his best to trick and turn us from God to him, but when we learn what the Bible says, we are able to contradict Satan’s lies and tricks and will be able to discern truth from falsity.
Put your faith in action, and don’t hide in the shadows. Stand with God in this end-time battle. Be strong and courageous because we are near the finish line of this race. We may be tired, we may be scared at times, but we can be confident that victory is ours, and we can rest on that truth.