1/3/24

My dad used to tell how he picked cotton on part of the land that now makes up the Redstone Arsenal and talk about how much the world changed since he was born in 1922. From silent to sound movies, color movies, television, the Space industry, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, 15 different presidents . . . he saw a lot of change in his 80 years. 

It’s been said that the one constant in this world is change. 

That’s what we can expect in 2024. We live in turbulent times! If there were only the US Presidential election, that would be turbulent enough, but there are plenty of other political, religious, social, and economic issues that create unease in people. And over and over we can hear people say, “There never was a time like this before.” 

Really?

Suppose you were born in 1900. When you were 14 the world would be engulfed in WWI, with 22 million killed. Later in the year, the Spanish flu epidemic killed 50 million people in 2 years. That’s 72 million people in 2 years (For comparison, as of today, the cumulative worldwide deaths from Covid-19 are 6,962,817 people).

When you’re 29, the Great Depression starts and runs until 1933. Unemployment hits 25% and the country nearly collapses.

When you’re 41, the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, dragging the US into WWII. The final toll was 75 million killed in the War in addition to the 6 million killed in the Holocaust. When you’re 52, the Korean War starts (and 5 million die). When you’re 64, the Vietnam war begins and drags on until your 75, with a loss of 4 million lives.

Looking at the long story of history gives you a different perspective on things, doesn’t it? And that’s a mere 75 years of world history. 

The  entire story of our world has been one of upheaval. From close to the beginning, in Genesis 6, the Bible records, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.” In fact, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.” Only.  Evil. Continually. 

A worldwide flood may have wiped out the people, but it didn’t wipe out the corruption and the violence. Even after Jesus came and the spread of the Kingdom, the persistent story of the world has been rebellion against God and one kingdom violently rising up against another.  

That’s one of the messages in Daniel 2. King Nebuchadnezzar had a vision of a statue with a head of gold. From the head down, the materials got shabbier: chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. The message for King Nebuchadnezzar sounds great: “You, O King, are the head of gold.” And while Nebuchadnezzar basks in the glow of being a golden head, the message continues: “and after you will come another king, and after him, another king . . .” 

There’s always another king. Another kingdom. Another upheaval. Another epidemic. Another disaster. On January 1, Japan was hit by a 7.5 earthquake (with smaller earthquakes in Hawaii, Alaska, California, Yellowstone, Indonesia, the Virgin Islands, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Fiji, Russia and others – all in a 24 hour period). 

There’s always something. 

But you know, in the entire history of the world, there has never been a storm that didn’t pass. 

Someone once said that the most comforting words in the Bible are “and it came to pass”! Hard times come – they always come, and they always pass. Yes, we live in a very chaotic time, and I read crazy predictions about what might happen in 2024 . . .  however, we don’t have to look very far back to find much more dangerous and chaotic times in world history. The difference is this is all happening in OUR world, to US, right NOW. So it seems worse than ever.

So what do we do when it seems our world is falling apart? We trust God. “The flower withers, the grass fades . . . but the Word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). 

While I’m in Isaiah (which is always a good place to be), we have this promise: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. . . Do not fear, for I am with you. . .” (Isaiah 43:1-5). 

When we’re in the middle of a storm, we are never alone. The message from the Season we’re still celebrating is just as true now as it was then:  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, ‘God is with us’ ” and from Matt. 25, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

God is with us in the midst of our storms. And in the entire history of the world, there was never a storm that didn’t pass.