Steve’s Devotional – Is the World Coming to an End?

What is going on? What does the future hold? Is the world coming to an end--really?

I don’t know about you, but I take great comfort in God’s sovereignty. We don’t get a vote (I don’t want to be in charge anyway) and all this is way above my pay grade (I can’t even fix me). The fact is, like it or not… God is God. Our King goes wherever he wants, and does whatever he wants, and whenever and however he wants.

So what do we do? We trust him.

And rest assured. When all is said and done, God’s kingdom will not end.

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:29-30).

Jesus has already been given all power and authority in the world (Matthew 28:18), but because of his patience and kindness, his hand is restrained. Peter said, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief” (2 Peter 3:9-10).

Jesus said that the kingdom could be compared to a field in which a farmer had sowed good seed. While the farmer was asleep, an enemy came and sowed some weeds in the same field. When the seeds began to grow, the weeds intermingled with the wheat and the field was a mess. When the slaves saw what had happened, they told the farmer and suggested that they pull the weeds: “But he said, ‘No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn’” (Matthew 13:29-30).

If I were not a subject of the King, I would be terribly afraid. But for those of us who serve God, the kingdom’s message is one of great joy and comfort.

Jesus told us to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Someday that prayer will be gloriously answered. Someday he will return. Someday the King will claim his total sovereign rule. “The Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful” (Revelation 17:14).

Someday a trumpet will sound, and we who belong to the King will look up, and his ultimate reign will begin.

Someone told me recently about two pastors who were conducting a funeral together. One pastor was to read the Scripture and lead a prayer, and then the other pastor was to give the eulogy. As the prayer was coming to an end, the pastor who was to give the eulogy realized he had left his notes in his office two floors above the chapel. He slipped up behind the pastor who was praying and whispered in his ear, “I’m leaving. Keep praying until I get back.” That prayer was one of the longest in the history of that church, but eventually the pastor found his notes and returned to the pulpit to deliver a successful eulogy.

I have often thought about the pastor’s words, “Keep praying until I get back.” Jesus said the same thing to us. He said, “I’ll be back soon… Keep on praying until I return. Keep on keeping on until I get there.”

It’s sometimes scary. You don’t know when Jesus is coming back to clean up the mess. And frankly, you’re not sure how much longer you can keep on keeping on. But don’t worry. It won’t be so long that you’ll have to give up.

As a Christian, you have already read the end of the story. If you dream of a time when the earth will be free, justice will be perfect and men will be good, you should keep on dreaming. It is a dream that will some day be a reality.

God wins. His kingdom will not end. Jesus will return.

And you can count on it.

Time to Draw Away

Read Matthew 6:25-34, John 16:33 & Revelation 21:1-4

We know the future. We can hold onto the One who is in charge of that future. And the future God controls is bright. He has promised. And he can be trusted.