As we navigate social limits from the coronavirus and many other challenges, it’s important to keep a big picture view of what God is doing in history and in the world.
The key points to keep in mind are: 1) the gospel is advancing to the ends of the earth.
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
Matthew 24:14
And 2) God uses suffering to help us grow and draw us closer to Him.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
James 1:2-4
That word “trials” is the same as “tribulation.” Our small “tribulations” of life are meant to refine us, to purify us and help us let go of this world and focus more of our love and commitment on the Lord. These small challenges prepare us for the greater tribulations in life and for the day when the Great Tribulation (again, the same word) comes to shake the whole world.
God is always trying to get our attention. He is always working in the world to get people to see beyond their own desires and struggles to see Him. In these “last days” (what the apostles called the age after the resurrection) we should expect an ongoing increase in persecution, deception, opposition and tribulation. Read Matthew 24.
Jesus came to divide.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 10:34-39, ESV
The lines will become increasingly obvious. Just as an earthquake can create a jagged line down the center of a city, so suffering creates a divide. You must either draw closer to God in faith or turn away from Him.
Let’s pray that the Lord will greatly use this season of isolation to draw many to saving faith in Him. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you!” (James 4:8).
For more perspective on What to Expect When the World is Ending, click here.