“I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.” (Psalm 7:17) “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3) “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)
Contrary to what many have come to believe, God is not here to make sure that you feel good about yourself, that your name is never besmirched, that you are well respected, lifted up by others, that your reputation is never tarnished. This is the product of this current generation’s misconceptions, one that started with the so-called “me” generation, the same one that invented the “I’m number one” cap, it is this generations statement of pride, that God is here to serve us for our names sake.
I have begun to let the statements on sites that allow comments to not bother me so much in this area, and there are many, of individuals who are crying to the Lord for Him to return soon, not that any compassion on my part for them has waned, but because of the reason that so many seem to be asking for the rapture. It is not because they desire to be with Christ, it is not a longing to be in His presence, it is because they do not want to have to go through any trial or tribulation, they don’t want to have to deal with it anymore.
“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” (Psalm 42:1) No matter if you are on a dream vacation with all you love, suffering from a debilitating illness, resting in the arms of the one you love here the most, or watching as this planet destroys itself willingly, falling exponentially faster into the grip of sin, it is not you that you need to be concerned with, it is not your neighbor or the ones you love or even the lost, it is Christ. There are few, and I do not claim to be one of them, that understand fully what it means to be crucified with Christ, to die to self, to find no pleasure or rest anywhere on this earth or even inside of themselves apart from Christ, these are the well-beloved, these are they who died to their own desires of the flesh long ago, and while they patiently await the return of the Lord, they would be just as content to leave their mortal shell in whatever way He determines.
To be with Christ is the goal, He is the prize, and neither the troubles they face here in this life or the troubles of others can sway their hearts from its one true desire. I could be wrong, but I do not believe that those who are always speaking about the Lord’s return for His church (1 Thess. 4:17) actually understand these thoughts, I do not believe that they completely understand that by voicing their desires they are praying for the great and terrible day of the Lord to begin, and they do not understand these things because they are only thinking of themselves, not the lost who will be left behind, not the death of nearly eight billion people, (Mark 13:20) not the suffering and death of nearly every living thing on this planet, they just want to escape because they do not like the present situation.
This is not to say they may not contemplate these facts, it is just that in the dry and thirsty land they are not panting after Christ to sustain them and give them peace, but to remove them from the current troubles they are either in or foresee coming. “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” (John 17:15) Pay close attention to that verse as the evil days approach my friends.
The old saying goes, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” We are not tough, we are saved, we do our greatest work on our knees, our greatest response to every situation is “Thy will be done,” our reply should always be “use me as you see fit, for your glory.”
It is going to become more difficult than many can imagine, but that is no reason to ask to be removed from the battle, it is not an excuse to shirk your duties of submission to the will of the Lord. My friends, no born-again believer’s life should end in regret.
