A Word of Caution About What’s Coming

Hi, readers. 

My blog has been on autopilot for months (over 100k hits, and Iran is topping the list this week), as I’ve been working on house repairs and hosting an exchange student for the second semester of the school year. Graduation was in June, and the student is safely back at her home country. It was a blessing to have her in our home.

If you’re watching for our harpazo, you probably have your heart on Jesus and your eyes looking toward all that’s happening in the Holy Land. It seems anything but holy at the moment, as world powers assemble weaponry near borders or in the territory of allies.

If you have kids who are draft age, you might be getting nervous. I know I am.

Living the dichotomy of, “There’s the County Fair this week, then I need to start planning activities for Grad Night,” and “We’ll probably see nukes fly any day now as the markets crash and civil unrest unfolds,” has become a second-nature posture that I never wanted.

As Pastor Dana Coverstone would conclude, “Nonetheless.”

But my heart is grieving. Young girls have been murdered, political dissidents have been murdered, crowds of Muslims are rioting and crowds of non-Muslims are fighting back. Presidential candidates have had assassination attempts. Children in Bangladesh are being murdered in front of their parents. Hostages have not been returned. Political parties are pointing fingers instead of pointing toward solutions.

Human trafficking, layoffs, terrorism, mob rampages, political coups, wildfires, war drums, earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, financial instability, hurricanes, food shortages…
 
I feel so powerless these days. For years, I’ve been blogging, talking, and warning. I’m so tired I can barely work up the energy to worry about who has listened and who hasn’t.

Where is Jesus? What is he thinking and doing right now? Is he grieving, too? Probably.


With all this tension, most of us are reacting to each other in anger. The riots in the UK sure feel like a preview of things to come to the US, and our melting pot of ideas, races, and religions are like dry grasses after a drought. It won’t take much for a conflagration to begin.

If a missile were launched from China to the US, killing tens of thousands, would you hate China? If an EMP were deployed over the US by Russia, would you demand they get nuked to oblivion?

I remember 9/11 well. I was pregnant, newly married, and at the office we all listened intently to what was happening. We refreshed our Yahoo! News screens to glean some new piece of information about what happened…as if we could ever really know.

A co-worker asked me if I was alright. You know what I said?

“If ever there was a reason for genocide, this is it.”

Ugly, right? I was a Bible-believing, pro-life, Jesus-loving, upwardly-mobile newlywed, dewey-eyed with hope for my future, driving a new Audi, saving for retirement, and blessed with a healthy baby. But I was talking murder of the worst kind at that moment.

My goodness, I was furious. But my fury was the catfish for what I was really feeling: terror.

My readers, if you’re still with me, I want to say something about the incomprehensible fear I believe we’re all headed toward, even as my living dichotomy has me buying peaches for making jam, and eagerly waiting to have grand kids.

In Iran, there are mothers who are sending their children to school, wishing their child didn’t feel so frightened.

In Russia, there are people who think the United States is filled with despots who want to kill them.

In China, there are workaday folks who are hoping to get a raise so they can afford a vacation this year.

In Cuba, there are daughters wishing their dying parent had been able to win the battle against cancer.

In Venezuela, there are children living with grandparents who only want a good, solid meal.

In Gaza, there are people who hate what Hamas has done.

In the US, there's a mom who just wants to live a peaceful life and make jam for neighbors.

Let’s not allow our fears to dominate our attitudes toward each other. I say this to myself, as much as I say it to you. Our anxiety is being used against us by the politicians and media puppets who intentionally whip us into a frenzy against each other. We are being PLAYED.

I’m not suggesting we turn into suckers. I’m only suggesting we do our best to not turn into monsters. Remember that we are all humanity and that the better parts of us are the Godly ones. He made each of us in His image, so let’s do our best to see that in each other.

Easier said than done, I know. But here’s my suggestion for the moment when your anxiety is on the rise:

Pray for discernment.
Pray for protection.
Pray for redemption of souls.
Pray for provision.
Pray for strength.
Pray for forgiveness.
Pray for peace.
Pray for each other.
Pray for good and faithful leaders to rise up against evil.

Most importantly, pray that you are accounted worthy to escape all these things, and to stand before Jesus.

Eyes up.