“Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.” (Job 30:21) You can almost hear the tears in those words, words spoken by a man who had lost everything but his wife, who was once sought out by many for his wise, Godly advice, and if I read the previous text correctly, it had now been months since he had known those days.
This was not a short journey for Job, each moment of grief must have felt like hours, each memory a stabbing pain of something or someone that was never going to return, yet he held his integrity before the Lord, (Job 2:9) he did not foolishly charge the Lord. (Job 1:22)
I don’t think many of us alive today could stand up under the same pressure, but I do think that some of us are going to find out. What was once beautiful and precious to us can quickly turn abhorrent, and many of us may indeed charge God foolishly if we find ourselves in the position that Job did. It takes very little for some who claim Christ as Lord to turn away from Him, they expect convenience, not hardship and trials, they expect what the world has to offer, when all they have been promised on this earth is food and raiment. (Matt. 6:31-33) I fear as the evil days begin to grow, and they are just getting started my friends, that many will turn their backs on the Lord, He will have become cruel to them.
Tears will not fall from their faces though when this moment arrives, but a form of disgust, almost hatred will replace what they once claimed as love for Him, a love that will show itself as feigned all along.
We want a warm, comfortable place to sleep, we want our job, we want the money that allows us to purchase those things we want, and when those and nearly all else is taken from us, many will not continue to serve for the glory of God, but will show themselves as they truly are, guilty by association to self and all that the world has to offer.
We have within us the ability to be obedient, yet that ability is tempered by the free will to choose our own path, and for many, that path is not following Christ, but only a similitude of it. Obedience, sacrifice, humility, these are only a few of the things that are missing not only in many individuals, but in the church as a whole. Obedience is limited to church services, sacrifice is weighed against what we consider our own personal needs, and wants, and humility is not achievable when one practices it in front of the mirror.
Our hearts should be breaking when we see how the world views Christians nowadays, what were once considered the people of the Most High God are now called “Sheeple,” those who were once feared because of the name of the One they professed are now openly mocked and ridiculed, those who once led in the ways of righteousness now stand behind the curtains of shame, fearful to confront the world and the great sin it has fallen into. We are indeed the reason for the great falling away, (2 Thess. 2:3) we are the responsible party.
There are a few though that are willing to stand, a few who care little for their own life, whose one desire is that God would be glorified, and the name of Jesus Christ lifted up. If you believe that the Lord has called you in these evil days to stand for Him, if you believe that you are part of the remnant, then I ask you to consider these words. We are standing for the Lord in full view of the world around us, and in that world are people who will call upon the Lord in the days of Jacob’s Trouble, (Jer. 30:7) and they will remember us. These are those that will not love their lives unto the end, (Rev. 12:11) and it is those that we are witnessing to, whether we ever meet them or not. We are being watched, act accordingly.
