We started building our house in the spring of twenty-nineteen, as soon as the ground was dry enough to set the foundation. Our builder was good to his word and he finished in under a year. No one knew what early twenty-twenty held. I flew with my son on January twenty-first round trip to Houston to see his neurologist for a post surgical follow up. As we waited at the international airport north of the city for our homeward flight to depart, I remember seeing a handful of internationals wearing masks. I texted my husband and he told me it was probably precautionary, to avoid flu. He wasn’t wrong.
By mid-March, the unthinkable happened as we entered a state of lock down and began hearing the word pandemic. My daughter who was teaching fifth grade at the time was told to prepare her students with work for two weeks at home. They never returned to school that year. Since our small rental house could barely contain the three of us and our two Great Danes, the bulk of our furnishings were in storage. I honestly worried that the company would refuse delivery.
On April ninth, Thursday before Easter that year, our furnishings were delivered and we heaved a huge sigh of relief as we settled into our new home. Two decades earlier, Y2K looming brought a similar kind of panic on the heels of another move for my then young family. Cries of the end of time echoed then as now. One settling truth remains unchanged in every age and in every circumstance. God is on His throne in all of His omnipotent glory yet He is not unmoved by our plight. When He created the world, He saw the end from before the beginning. A most repeated phrase in His Word is do not fear. How, you may ask? I AM with you is His reply.
“The Lord is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and rage.
He takes revenge on all who oppose him and continues to rage against his enemies!
The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished.
He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm.
The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet.
At his command the oceans dry up, and the rivers disappear.
The lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade, and the green forests of Lebanon wither.
In his presence the mountains quake, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles, and its people are destroyed.
Who can stand before his fierce anger?
Who can survive his burning fury?
His rage blazes forth like fire, and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence.
The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in him.
But he will sweep away his enemies in an overwhelming flood.
He will pursue his foes into the darkness of night.
Why are you scheming against the Lord?
He will destroy you with one blow; he won’t need to strike twice!”
Nahum 1:2-9 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/nam.1.2-9.NLT
“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High.
God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed.
From the very break of day, God will protect it.
The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble!
God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts!
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.
Come, see the glorious works of the Lord: See how he brings destruction upon the world.
He causes wars to end throughout the earth.
He breaks the bow and snaps the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.”
Psalms 46:1-11 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.46.1-11.NLT
God is a refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us. Fortress. Avenger. Protector. Sustainer. King of all kings. His holiness defies definition or description, and until we stand before Him, we can not know it fully. Our feeble minds, even the most brilliant among us, cannot plumb it’s depths or imagine it’s heights regardless of our claims.
“The theme of God’s holiness does not end in mere transcendence, but in an unimaginably great God graciously disclosing himself to human beings—even when they rebel against him.
We stand in their company.
If his holiness is disclosed both in mercy and in wrath, then we are neither to despair of it nor to presume upon it.
‘Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy” (Ps. 99:9).”
For The Love Of God: Day 285 • Devotional
https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/786/day/285?segment=0
“In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments.”
Colossians 2:3-4 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/col.2.3-4.NLT
“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.
Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.”
Colossians 2:6-8 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/col.2.6-8.NLT
“for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’
They will deceive many.
And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic.
Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.
Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.
But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed.
You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.
And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.
And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.
Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”
Matthew 24:5-14 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.24.5-14.NLT
God alone knows the appointed time. In His omniscience, He sees what no one else can see, not even the angels. We did indeed receive the knowledge of good and evil at the fall and all humanity has borne a weight it was never intended to bear, but when God drove Adam and Eve from the Garden and placed an impassable guard at the entrance, He spared us eternity apart from Himself. (Genesis 3:22-24)
A war was waged in heaven long before the deceiver turned his sights on us. He did not stop with the first man and woman. Every soul wrapped in human flesh and instilled with the breath of life will fall under his attack. Knowing that he is defeated forever in Christ is our only hope but he will not go down without a fight. He is sly, subtle, opportunistic-
“You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.
Good for you!
Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”
James 2:19 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.2.19.NLT
“Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all Lords and King of all kings.
And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”
Revelation 17:14 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rev.17.14.NLT
He is holy and He is with us until we go to Him.
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God.
First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.
Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
Then we will be with the Lord forever.
So encourage each other with these words.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 NLT
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