There is a statement that has been running thru my mind quite a bit lately, and most generally when things like this occur I see them as a prompting from the Holy Spirit, something that our Lord wants me to pay attention to. The statement is this; Those things that we expect, we come to believe we deserve.
In 1st Kings chapter 17, Elijah is sent to a widow woman’s house to be sustained (v. 9) and while he was there, for as long as he was there, “The barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruise of oil fail.” (v. 16) I do not know how long of a time span passed from verse sixteen to verse seventeen, we are told only that “It came to pass,” but I am fairly sure it wasn’t just a day or two, but if you would, look now at verse 24, after the widow woman’s son dies, she blames Elijah, and after he ask the Lord to revive him she says, “Now by this I know that thou art a man of God.” I want to make sure I am correct here, Elijah shows up at this particular woman’s house, and please remember here that there were a lot of widows at that time in the land according to what Christ said in Luke 4:25. After he shows up, every single time that she lifted the lid off the container of meal or oil, there was enough in there for the three of them, and I would guess exactly what they needed for that one day, then it was repeated every day after that until the Lord told Elijah it was time to move on.
How many times do you suppose she emptied both of these vessels, then went over to them an hour or so later to just take a quick peek inside, empty, a little later another quick glance, empty, suppertime, full. I’ll bet there was a lot of elation, giggling in amazement and probably a few “Praise Gods,” Elijah was served with joy, right up until her son died, now I need more proof, now you’re not a Godsend, now you are a burden, a curse. “Art thou come to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?” (v. 18) What sin, and why do you think I would want your son dead, ever since I’ve been here, you and your son have eaten while other widows and children have not. What we expect, we come to believe we deserve. “You whine, you complain, all you ever want is more, and what you have been given is never enough after just a short period of time, tell you what, how about I just stop the manna from falling and watch you people starve.”
It’s going to get very bad on this planet my friends, and I could be wrong, but I believe it is going to get very difficult even for those nations that are not a part of what is called the “third world” before the return of the Lord for His church. He is already beginning to remove some of the tares from the wheat, (Matt. 13:30) He is allowing the individuals who only serve Him with their lips to see who they truly are, He is beginning to show many that what they expect, they in no way deserve. Too many people in too many nations believe they are saved, and far too many of them will be shown that it is not the Lord God they serve, but themselves, none of us deserve anything, and we all deserve what we get.
It is only by the grace and mercy of Christ that we who know Him as Lord have been saved from the wrath of God that is coming upon this entire earth, but don’t expect to be caught up with Him in the clouds (1st Thess. 4:17) after your steak dinner and right in the middle of that television program that you’ve been waiting all week for. There are sure signs all over the planet that the Lord God is warning us of His anger, and it is time to stop thinking about expecting those things that we believe we deserve. There is no place in the Scriptures that speaks of a great revival before the rapture, all the prophecies have been fulfilled, the removal of the church, the bride of Christ is the only next event on God’s calendar, but His signs are easily seen by those who will only look in faith.
I speak not here by the Lord, only of my own accord, but if you think you are in a “safe zone,” an area of the world where plenty abounds, where a general sense of peace and security is felt by all, a place on this earth that our Lord is not going to make known to all that will but look that time is almost up, then you are mistaken. The tares are beginning to be separated from the wheat, and only those who truly trust Him and know Him as Savior will be removed before that great and terrible day of the Lord begins. (Acts 2:20) Continue to prepare for the financial well-being of your family, do not stop doing the necessities of those earthly things that matter, go to college, get up and go to work, mow the yard, but in every single thing that you do, keep this one word in your mind at all times, imminent. He is coming for us, and personally I believe He is coming very soon, but that doesn’t mean that I’m supposed to quit my job, stop making plans for the future, and just go sit on the front porch and wait for Him. His work is what I am supposed to be doing, at the same time that I am still providing for my family, I am to love Him and the thought of His return for us at all times, every moment, but my love for my wife will not diminish because of my devotion and love for Him, no matter the circumstances, and my friends, these circumstances could get very, very tough, especially for those who come to expect those things they believe they deserve.
True suffering may be coming, the children of Israel and those of us who have been grafted in with them, (Rom. 11:24) the Christians, are experiencing persecution in some areas of this planet that is unspeakable, and the persecution will spread, we may get very, very wet before the Lord closes the door of the ark, the tares need to be weeded out. How well can you suffer, what do you envision as your breaking point, this time my friends it is not going to get better, we will not receive double here as our brother Job did, many of us can expect the same as Lazarus at the gate of the rich man, but how many of us are willing to give the Lord our last two mites worth, and still trust Him. That is what is coming, and then our Lord will answer His own question, “When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) Prepare to suffer, but until then serve, and if He allows suffering to enter your life, serve.
