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The world is rapidly changing. More accurately, the world is rapidly declining – and the downward spiral is exponential. At every turn, God-honoring values are under attack, as are the people willing to take a stand for Christ.
Persecution is on the rise worldwide. According to the most recent World Watch List from Open Doors at www.opendoors.org, the number of countries where Christians suffer serious to severe persecution has nearly doubled over the past thirty years, from 40 countries in 1993 to 79 countries in 2023. If current trends continue in this country, the day is coming (my guess would be sooner rather than later) when the persecution of the American church will reach beyond antagonism, hatred and verbal attacks.
Creation, an unwitting prisoner of sin’s consequences (Romans 8:20-21), is also in decline. More species face extinction, invasive species are doing untold damage, pollution continually increases, and man’s well-intended attempts to fix the problems are usually counter-productive. There are fewer songbirds, bats and bees, fewer resources, and fewer places to see creation unscathed.
None of this surprises me. It’s all in the Bible. God revealed to us that, in the final days, evil would increase
Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. (Matthew 24:9-12)
and that the earth would grow weary and worn.
In time of old You founded the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
Even they will perish, but You endure;
All of them will wear out like a garment;
Like clothing You will change them and they will pass away. (Psalm 102:25-26)
It can be discouraging. But God couched these truths with encouraging words. He told us He will return to claim His own
And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. (Matthew 24:30-31)
and even when everything else changes, He will never change.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.
The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You.” (Psalm 102:27-28)
All the ugliness we’re witnessing has its place in God’s greater plan – a plan we’re not entirely privy to. (Matthew 5:18) We’re traveling as sojourners and strangers in a foreign land, living for God’s glory until we reach our heavenly home. (1 Peter 2:11) When we’re embroiled in battles, it’s easy to think the enemy is people who oppose us, but the true enemy is Satan. Our battle is not against our fellow human beings – but dark spiritual forces. (Ephesians 6:12)
Do you ever get tired of fighting the good fight for Christ?
I do. When I’m tired, I’m tempted to hermit away in my home and shake my head at the headlines; bemoaning the demise of objective journalism, wondering at peoples’ irrationality, praying against godless forces, and wondering when God will run out of patience and intervene. I find myself crying out with the psalmist,
“How long, O Lord, will you look on?” (Psalm 35:17)
At those moments, God reminds me He’s closing the door on this world so He can usher in His kingdom. But, because He doesn’t want people to eternally perish, He’s closing the door slowly, patiently (2 Peter 3:9). My job, in the meantime, is to abide with Him, living out each day in humble obedience.
Perhaps that’s why I find the words of Henry Lyte’s hymn, “Abide with Me” so comforting.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day. Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away. Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me! (“Abide with Me”, Henry Lyte)