My mother, when the car that she was driving would begin to make a noise that did not sound like something that should be coming from the vehicle, would simply reach over and turn the radio up, effectively, at least in her mind, causing the possible problem to cease to exist. Of course sooner or later the noise would need to be addressed, but for those moments that the radio was at full volume, she did not have to think about the problems, out of sight, out of mind, so to speak.
There are many Christians, and even more who profess to know our Lord as Savior, but their hearts are far from Him, (Matt. 15:8) who are living the same type of life, they know there is something that they are supposed to be doing, they can see the proofs from around the world that the Lord is warning of His imminent return, but they have chosen to turn the radio up, hoping that everything will return to some semblance of normalcy. Devoting their days to their employment field or other earthly tasks that they believe need to be accomplished, and their evenings to either the television or other just as meaningless tasks that have no relevance to the eternal. My mother did not turn the radio up because she did not want to take it to the repair man to have it looked at, she did not want her life interrupted, she did not want the continuous sameness to be modified in any way, she wanted life to go on in the way that she wanted it to.
If one is discerning, praying in the Spirit for guidance to truth, it is quite easy to find information that is not of the “conspiracy theory” group, there are many God-fearing individuals out there that our Lord is using in these last days to bring to the attention to all that will listen that He is moving mightily. The largest this, the never before seen that, events are happening that can only be accomplished by the hand of God, and far too many are simply turning the radio up, their lives will be interrupted, the plans that they have for the future will all disappear, and whether or not they will admit it to themselves, they do not want things to change, they want the security of sameness. My mother turned the radio up because she did not want to suffer inconvenience, she wanted repetition, the continuance of same brings a false sense of security, and change is one of the things that people fear the most.
Change, even in some of its most insignificant ways, is a form of suffering, the repetition has been modified, the security that we believe to be continuous has been shown for what it truly is, an illusion. I believe most people recognize this, but they still fear it, for at its core it proves to them that they are not nearly as in control as they believed themselves to be. This is one of the main reasons that these Christians will turn the radio up when they see these events happening all over the planet, they do not want to lose what they have, this illusion of security, for the promises of what is to come, or perhaps better stated, they do not want to suffer during that transition.
“The rain falls on the just and unjust,” (Matt. 5:45) and even though we have been given an umbrella, they would just as soon leave before the rain starts, instant transition, no suffering whatsoever. They will run to their church, thinking the building itself to be a holy place, or at least find refuge in others who will tell them that all will be alright while they rub their back or give them a reassuring hug, they will busy themselves with other things, convincing themselves that our Lord does not want any of His children to suffer in anyway, but if it does, they will accept it in a form of forced attrition, suffering because they have to, and will find no rejoicing in it at all. “Rejoice in suffering,” (1 Peter 4:13) is for other people, “God loves me too much to allow me to suffer” are the thoughts of a deceived mind, and completely the opposite of what the Word of God says.
The most difficult part with these individuals is getting them to admit the truth to themselves, they have had the radio up a long time, and for them to admit this truth would be seen by them as a lack of faith in our Lord, thereby making them seem in their own eyes as one who does not love and trust in Christ as much as they should. In a sense my friends, by trying to help them, you have made them, inadvertently and not by intention, feel even worse about themselves, and, like it or not, because you have shown them the truth about themselves, even in the smallest inference of His word, they will hate you. You will be the one at fault for showing to them their own faults. These people deep down understand the blame for how they are rests entirely upon them, but as Adam did, (Gen. 3:12) they need to place that blame on another, for it is more than a little difficult for them, in fact for them it is the worst type of suffering, to admit to themselves who they truly are. They don’t want just an umbrella, they want a full raincoat, galoshes and to live in a place where it never rains, where the radio is always up at full volume, where there are no problems in life, no inconveniences, only peaceful continuity and the repetition of sameness, where the sky is always blue and it is nice and warm.
These types of people are going to have a lot of problems when the Lord decided to start moving in the area that they live in, when the “This has never happened before” things start happening in their backyard, for not only will they not want to go thru the suffering, they will feel badly about themselves for feeling as if they are a disappointment to their Lord. These are the days that our Lord is beginning to weed out those who say they trust, and those who do not trust, and many of those in the first category will fall by the wayside, they will be shown that they were only tares all along, and never of the wheat. (Matt. 13:24-26) Others though will need this double-edged sword of sufferings so that they can be shown that their faith is real, it only needed to be put to the test, and there is no one better than our Lord at showing people where their true faith lies.
No one knows the hour or the day, (Matt. 24:36) but for those who have been given eyes to see and ears to hear, for those who have been blessed with a heart that can discern between good and evil, it does not take very much to see that evil is abounding exponentially and at a pace never seen before, and that Almighty God is warning all that will listen. The fig tree is beginning to sprout its leaves my friends, (Matt. 24:32-33) the times are at hand, but there seems to be very few who are willing to listen. But this is the way our Lord has always worked, calling out a few chosen ones to warn the rest, He has always and only called out for His purposes those who are willing to serve, those who are willing to suffer, those who trust completely, as much as He blesses them to trust.
Afraid? Of course, those who stand upon the wall are the first to see the danger coming, the first to feel the piercings of the arrows, but the amount of time spent in the possible suffering that He may allow cannot be compared to the eternity of joy that awaits. (2 Cor. 4:17) Turn the radio down, in fact, turn it off, and prepare your heart to hear what our Savior has to say to you, the calming promises of His faithfulness and love. “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) The more you trust in His will for your life, no matter the circumstances, the greater your trust and faith in Him will be.
