November 29, 2022

It has been said, concerning certain circumstances, that you can run but you can’t hide...

When attending a business conference in San Francisco in the fall of 1989, I had the unfortunate occasion to experience a face to face encounter with a devasating earthquake that lasted about 15 seconds… I found out the real meaning of “no place to hide.” When trying to move away from the front window in the Hotel lobby, the ground was not even where I expected it to be as the floor was moving about so abruptly. I stumbled over near a sofa and rolled my body over it, onto the floor behind it, and made quick friends with the large support pillar that was next to me. It was an unforgettable moment that I have thought about many times.

Today as I write this weekly devotional, I am having my 80th birthday, thanks be unto Yahweh who holds my days and times in his capable hands.

Just as I experienced the “earthquake” of that memorable day in 1989, today I feel I am experiencing a “spiritual earthquake” that is growing in intensity day by day… likewise, I feel the foundations of our society and culture are “agitated” and things are very unstable. At my age, and from my past remembrance of more stable and civilized times, I know that the troubled times that Yeshua spoke of in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 are coming about, and will increase in difficulty.

On a global basis, the powerful forces of darkness are tightening their grip on people everywhere; much of the once faithful body of believers have passed on and much of the younger generation is woefully bankrupt in their respect and consideration of God’s opinion or basic morality. The absence of praying faithful saints leaves a vacuum that evil entities are hungry to fill. Our societal and national moral compass is spinning out of control. Things once sacred and holy have been relegated to the fictional and superstitious trash bins of our society. Thankfully, there is yet a remnant that faithfully looks to Yahweh for His direction and preservation, and perhaps are, for a time, sufficient in number to hold back His release of judgment. I believe the coming days will intensify with darkened spiritual upheaval that will overflow (its natural progression) into mainstream life and the resultant confusion and disruptions will cause men to question where their feet can find stable footing. When spiritual darkness comes upon a land, evil people and their unbridled appetites and aggressiveness only increases. The Scripture says:

”For look! The wicked bend their bow, They make ready their arrow on the string, That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart. 3 If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” ps 11:2-3 nkjv

It is my concern that the masses will not recognize the real underlying problem in this calamity (their spiritual bankruptcy), and they will resort to their own intellectual and physical strengths to cope with it and try to overcome it as they pursue safety. The Bible also says:

“No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, 19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.” ps 33:16-19 nkjv

Earthquakes, natural and spiritual, always leave a REAL destruction field in their wake… where will you seek shelter and deliverance from the coming events clearly prophesied in the Bible… ? The time to “make ready for the shaking” is NOW… who really holds your fate and destiny, the fleshly frailty of men, or the Eternal God by “who’s word the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth?”

Shalom… John