Hope in Troubled Times

 The world is shaking. Everything is uncertain. First Covid, then Ukraine, now war in the Middle East.

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. Hag 2:6–7 NIV

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Is 60:1–2 NRSV

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the age of faith, it was the age of scepticism,
a season of light, a season of darkness,
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us”

Dickens, Charles. Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities

The world of yesterday is never coming back. The world of today is a mess.
We wait, but we do not know what to expect.

The future will be different from the past, but we do not know what will come and when it will come. But wait with patience. In the deep darkness, God is not a passive bystander.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer had to look death in the face. He confronted the power of darkness with open eyes. He was executed by the enemy, that is, hanged by the SS, but he entered God's loving presence at that very moment.

He wrote the following words:

Wonderfully sheltered by good powers
Let us confidently await what may come
God is with us in the evening and in the morning
And certainly every new day. (Translated from German)

But these terrible last years before peace were like labour pains. Two new babies appeared. A new Germany, a civilised democratic country, and a new Israel, the restored homeland of the Jews.

This convulsion will continue. Covid did not come from God. We are experiencing cruel demonic attacks, but God still remains God. God is good and He is controlling this shaking to accomplish His will.

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Is 60:1–2 NRSV

I believe that the worst time will be the best time.

But the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Hab 2:14 NRSV

Countless millions will bow before Jesus. The long-awaited reformation will finally come to light.