Last week while at church one of the youth's favorite bands blared a song through the sound system. There were a lot of kids and I'm not sure any of them were catching the prophetic lyrics of the song. The band played,
Jesus talked about days like these. He said, as He spoke about the days preceding His return, "There will be great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now." I have always thought of this tribulation in the context of massive world war and hiding out from the anti-Christ, but that's not really what Jesus is saying. The understanding of this Greek word "tribulation" is key. The word in this context means a pressure or burden upon the spirit which causes grievous affliction or distress. It was not a new idea. Daniel prophesied the same thing, when the enemy would "wear out the saints of the Most High."
That is what I see both in many circles that I am in; Saints of the Most High who are worn out! Interesting to be living out what Daniel prophesied and Jesus spoke of. I say "living out" because it is often my experience too.
In the same setting, Jesus tells us what this wearing out of the saints will look like. He said, "Lawlessness will increase and the love of many will grow cold." The song continued to blare on Sunday morning and the band sang, prophetically, I think, of a love grown cold.
I'm praying that this wearing out doesn't make my love or your love grow cold. Perhaps we are afraid to feel. Maybe we have been hurt and a scabbed wound won't let us feel. It's not impossible that sin has deadened us and we no longer feel because our spirit is dead.
There is an answer to this. The song screamed at me, even as I noticed those around me were fixed on their tasks or engaged in conversation. The band played,
It reminds me of a prophet of old who was worn out and found the answer to his desperation and love grown cold. A prophet who confronted then ran from the spirit of his day embodied by none other than Jezebel. The culture wanted his total and complete destruction. We are told he fled. He spent 40 days and 40 nights on "Horeb, the mount of God." Here at Horeb there was rest for his weary soul. It's an interesting place to find the answer to weariness. Horeb in Hebrew means desolation. Desolation is defined as a state of complete emptiness. It was on the desolate mountain of God in a state of emptiness that Elijah could once again find God. May I remind you he found Him not in the wind, an earthquake, or in the fire, but rather in a whisper. Perhaps an empty state finally allowed him to hear the whisper.
My sense is not only that many of us are worn out and watching our love grow cold as we trade it for indifference. I also sense that the God of the ages is whispering to us. May you find Him as He whispers, and as you do, may you once again discover Him as your sole refuge. He is our provision in a day of great tribulation.
David Fuller
"I lay awake on a long dark night
I can't seem to tame my mind
Slings and arrows are killin' me inside."
I can't seem to tame my mind
Slings and arrows are killin' me inside."
Jesus talked about days like these. He said, as He spoke about the days preceding His return, "There will be great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now." I have always thought of this tribulation in the context of massive world war and hiding out from the anti-Christ, but that's not really what Jesus is saying. The understanding of this Greek word "tribulation" is key. The word in this context means a pressure or burden upon the spirit which causes grievous affliction or distress. It was not a new idea. Daniel prophesied the same thing, when the enemy would "wear out the saints of the Most High."
That is what I see both in many circles that I am in; Saints of the Most High who are worn out! Interesting to be living out what Daniel prophesied and Jesus spoke of. I say "living out" because it is often my experience too.
In the same setting, Jesus tells us what this wearing out of the saints will look like. He said, "Lawlessness will increase and the love of many will grow cold." The song continued to blare on Sunday morning and the band sang, prophetically, I think, of a love grown cold.
"Simple livin' is my desperate cry
Been tradin' love with indifference
And it suits me just fine."
Been tradin' love with indifference
And it suits me just fine."
I'm praying that this wearing out doesn't make my love or your love grow cold. Perhaps we are afraid to feel. Maybe we have been hurt and a scabbed wound won't let us feel. It's not impossible that sin has deadened us and we no longer feel because our spirit is dead.
There is an answer to this. The song screamed at me, even as I noticed those around me were fixed on their tasks or engaged in conversation. The band played,
"The day reminds me of you
The night hides your truth
One day it ends
One day we die
Believe what you will that's your right
But I choose to win
I choose to fight."
The night hides your truth
One day it ends
One day we die
Believe what you will that's your right
But I choose to win
I choose to fight."
It reminds me of a prophet of old who was worn out and found the answer to his desperation and love grown cold. A prophet who confronted then ran from the spirit of his day embodied by none other than Jezebel. The culture wanted his total and complete destruction. We are told he fled. He spent 40 days and 40 nights on "Horeb, the mount of God." Here at Horeb there was rest for his weary soul. It's an interesting place to find the answer to weariness. Horeb in Hebrew means desolation. Desolation is defined as a state of complete emptiness. It was on the desolate mountain of God in a state of emptiness that Elijah could once again find God. May I remind you he found Him not in the wind, an earthquake, or in the fire, but rather in a whisper. Perhaps an empty state finally allowed him to hear the whisper.
My sense is not only that many of us are worn out and watching our love grow cold as we trade it for indifference. I also sense that the God of the ages is whispering to us. May you find Him as He whispers, and as you do, may you once again discover Him as your sole refuge. He is our provision in a day of great tribulation.
David Fuller
1 comments:
this message was for me. love you as my second (earthly) father dave.
kels
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