There Will Be Light In The Darkness

"Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness. He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous." Psalm 112:4 Our journey through this lifetime presents us with many dangers, many afflictions, and times of great darkness; but if a man or woman walks uprightly he can be sure that whenever he walks through a time of darkness the Lord will shine a light to show him the way and to reassure him he is not alone. vs 7: "He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Today is a time in the history of the world when great and looming dangers are threatening ominous times ahead. There are scientists venturing into places they should not be. The project called CERN is a project in which scientists are experimenting upon the dividing line between this world and "other dimensions." There have been reports that they have been encountering supernatural exchanges which they cannot explain. Clearly, they are opening "portals" into the abyss, and bringing forth through those portals beings whose domain is not of this world. In addition, there have been large earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, fires, and other disasters which have come upon the earth since they started this project. Only terrible things can come from this kind of experiment, and several top physicists such as the late Stephen Hawking have solemnly warned them they shouldn't be messing with these things because the damage to the earth could be incalculable. And then there are the signs from heaven, a series of "blood moons" appeared which were total lunar eclipses. What made them special is that each fell on Biblical feast days. It's clear that God is signaling those who will understand - what time it is! Add to that a total solar eclipse canvassing the US from coast to coast - and a configuration in the constellations some believe is portending the soon beginning of the Tribulation ...to say terrible and unprecedented times are coming is without question. Earthquakes and hurricanes, tornados and floods ... the signs Jesus told us to watch for are all here, concurently in the same generation. But the Word of God says that the believer must not be afraid in a time of evil tidings. Why? Because there is nothing that can affect the believer without first going through the hands of his Lord. The believer knows full well that his Lord has promised to be with him in all he experiences. "For he himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'” Hebrews 13:5-6 "Oh but," one might ask, "believers in other countries are being tortured and beheaded. If that's happening to them, that and more could happen to us." Yes, it could. But we are called upon to not cling to this life because we're only passing through and time here is short in comparison to eternity. Watching a beheading can fill one with terror, but the one being beheaded feels no pain. He instantly finds himself standing before his Lord in heaven, and is reunited with those who have gone there before him. So one could say that it's not the terror it appears to be, but it's one of the most glorious things that can happen to a believer, a quick and painless transport into the very portals of heaven and to joyous reunion with loved ones long since passed. Plus, he gets the "martyr's crown," which will be his forever. "But what of torture?" one may ask. That question brings to mind the story of Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsie. During the Holocaust they were taken to a concentration camp, and the conditions there were so terrible that Betsie became very ill. As she lay dying, Corrie asked her how she could stand it and Betsie replied, "There is no pit so deep, that God is not deeper still." That is called "dying grace," the help of the Lord in the worst of circumstances. Corrie survived the camps and went on to become one of God's most gifted and anointed speakers. She brought the message of the Gospel throughout the world and testified of the tremendous grace of God in all circumstances. The apostle Paul suffered terrible things during his mission. Read 2nd Corinthians 11:23-29, where he tells all the things he went through. He was stoned and left for dead, he was whipped and thrown into a dungeon, and that's just the beginning, read it. Paul was just a man. Indeed he ends that passage saying, "Who is weak, and I am not weak?" But through it all he was never without grace, and he was never forsaken. One has to experience something terrible to be convinced of the truth of the all-sufficient grace of God in times of trial. That grace and that love will demonstrably be with the believer always and everywhere. Therefore, we are not to fear, but to hold fast to the One who will see us through. Do NOT be afraid of evil tidings; let your heart be steadfast, trust the Lord.