Sickness, troubles, hurt, murder, poverty, suffering, loneliness, death - these things seem to be so prevalent these days - seems to me like its getting worse. And its all around us. Its not just far away, it happens here, to people close to us. Our friends lost their baby earlier this month after he turned just one day old. Another friend is struggling with health issues but doctors have not made any diagnosis yet. Our domestic worker's sister has been diagnosed with a tumour. Suffering caused by sickness is something our family is confronted with on a daily basis with my niece, Jené, especially now with her upcoming operations, hanging over our heads like a dark cloud. (see my post from January 2012 about Jené, who is living with cerebral palsey). These things often bring us to tears. Yet it has been prophesied by Isaiah around 700BC already that we can expect the earth and everything in it to 'wear out like an old garment'. No matter how much we try to 'save the earth', the reality according to God is that it will all pass away anyway, regardless of our efforts. The hope we have, however, is that the salvation of the Lord will not wear out, or pass away. It will last forever. That is the Hope that we can hold onto in these troubling and difficult times.
Isaiah 51:6
“Lift up your eyes to the sky,
Then look to the earth beneath;
For the sky will vanish like smoke,
And the earth will wear out like a garment
And its inhabitants will die in like manner;
But My salvation will be forever,
And My righteousness will not wane."
Rebellion, lawlessness, pride, idolatry, destruction, selfishness, greed, envy, strife, selfrighteousness - these are the things even more prevalent in people these days. It might not drive us to tears the way the above mentioned circumstances do, but it makes God grieve. Yes, God grieves over sin. In Genesis 6:5-6 we learn about this attribute of God as He observes His creation, just before the flood.
'Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.'
In Matthew 24:37 Jesus says:
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the son of man”
In a world where sin is common, suffering, pain and destruction is common. Rom 6:23 says 'For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.'
He did not come to take away the bodily death, but He took away the sting thereof.
How I wish that sickness, imperfection and death will go away! Wait a minute, oh yes...it will! All these things will pass away and God will make everything new! And those who can stand before him sinless (in Jesus) will live with Him forever in a world free from sin, sickness and death!!!
REVELATION 21:1-4
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
Let's not be upset because we don't understand or because it doesn't seem to make sense. The Bible is filled with examples of people who also could not see the bigger picture but had to trust that God knows what He is doing. (Noah who built an ark in drought, Abraham, who was told to offer his son, Isaac, the Israelites wandering the wilderness for 40 years, Mary, mother of Jesus who was going to have a son out of wedlock, conceived by the Holy Spirit - I'm sure she had a hard time trying to explain that one to somebody!) And God evidently had a great plan, even though none of them could see it at the time. We have the benefit of learning about God's character through these examples. It should be a lot easier for us to trust Him! It really helps me to remember that He is ultimately GOOD, infinite in WISDOM, and completely SOVEREIGN. Whatever He decides will be for His glory and our good!
