Could I Be Left Behind?

“Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Luke 21:36 (NIV)

Devotion

The 1970s had a wave of evangelism when revival broke out during a two-hour meeting at Asbury College and spread across America. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit revealed God will return for his people and they need to know him. So, young adults sought to follow and prepare for Jesus’s return. Christians looked for Christ to come with joy.

Cliff and Margaret were young newly weds living the simple life on an island off the coast of North Carolina. Cliff, my brother-in-law, sometimes came home from work, changed into swimming trunks, grabbed his surfboard, hopped in his truck, and left to catch some waves. On this day, my sister Margaret came home from shopping and saw his truck in the driveway, so she said, “Cliff, I’m home” as she walked through the small apartment calling his name. She searched each room for him. When she reached the bedroom and peeped around the door frame, her eyes fixed upon his clothes heaped in a pile on the floor.

“Cliff! Cliff, where are you?” She waited for a response but didn’t receive one. “Answer me!” She stood in silence, her eyes overflowed with disbelief and mental anguish. The rapture? Then she dropped to her knees, her face cradled in her hands as her slumped body writhed with sobs. Later, they laughed together when he jumped out from where he hid.

The Bible says when you see evil escalating lookup for the return of the Lord. We do not know the time. God alone knows the exact time, but this season is a chance to discover Christ and decide his place in our lives. Our future destiny depends upon our response, because procrastination may cost us far more than we realize. It’s time to pause and know God better.

In America, we have religious freedom with ample opportunity to hear the gospel preached. Perhaps we view the Bible as old-fashioned and irrelevant and we want something out of the ordinary to satisfy the emptiness we feel.

It is reassuring to know that God is sovereign and his attributes are matchless. He is the creator of the universe and all living matter within it. No one compares to him. When we accept his forgiveness and friendship, his Holy Spirit lives in us and quenches our thirsty hearts and souls with refreshing living water.

I believe God is awakening his spirit in our country, and it is an exciting time but do we see it, or are we asleep? (Isaiah 43:19) How many of us sense distress in the atmosphere as satanic forces of the world revolt against God? Perhaps it’s time to wake up spiritually instead of sleeping. The trumpet could sound without us hearing it, and it’s wise to hear and understand what the Spirit of God says.

Prayer:

I thank you, God, for opening my eyes, ears, and heart to receive and accept with faith that the entire Bible is The Truth. Your Word teaches me who I am in Christ. So, regardless of what happens in the world, I believe in God. My identity and peace aren’t in myself, or the world, but in you. You guide, comfort, and strengthen me to endure troubles and suffering. My confidence in a glorious inheritance with Christ is because of your resurrection, forgiveness and unfailing love.

Your turn:

What is God revealing about himself to you during this historical time?

Photo Credit: Depositphotos