The essence of Christianity is that we have hope in Jesus Christ. The hope for a better life, the hope of salvation, and the hope that one day we shall live in God’s eternal kingdom with Jesus Christ and the Father.
The current world situation
In the world today there is little or no hope to be had.
Natural disasters are wreaking havoc with people’s lives. The flow-on effects into the economy with the destruction of crops, destruction of homes, and the pestilences that follow all compound to remove hope.
The numbers of these disasters are on the increase, as too is the intensity of the devastation.
Then there are the wars in various parts of the world. A review of the wars at the time of writing this article show that there are seventy-seven active wars currently raging around the world right now.
Government interventions
People look to governments to find solutions, but the governments have no answers.
They throw money at the problems, but often do more damage than good. For example, a farmer suffering the after effects of fire, flood or drought does not need another low-interest loan that they can’t pay back.
And the thing about government throwing money about is that at some point it must be repaid. Governments don’t have idle money sitting around. They have to either take it from something else, or borrow it from the world banks.
Think of the billions, if not trillions of dollars that were thrown at the COVID crisis. All of that money was borrowed and at some point it needs to be paid back, which will have negative consequences on the economy for many, many years.
So, governments don’t have the answers.
Societal breakdowns
Recently we have seen here in Australia and other parts of the world, an escalation of violence, especially in regional towns. Our Prime Minister visited Alice Springs in the centre of the country to have some talks about the violence in that town.
But that is just a drop in the ocean.
Having spent some months travelling around Australia myself, I have seen first-hand the escalation in violence in recent years. Places I stopped and stayed at several years ago I was warned to bypass and not even stop to buy fuel if I could avoid it.
Several places I visited had caravan parks that were monitored constantly by security cameras, with high steel fences and gates surrounding them, and were locked down between sunset and sunrise every day. This is personal testimony to how bad the violence is in some regional towns.
And to make it worse, in some places the governments are relaxing laws that would help curb some of the violence.
Birth pangs
But Jesus said, in Matthew chapter 24, that this is just the start. It will not get better, but will worsen over time.
Jesus calls these things the “birth pangs” that point to the time of His return.
Now, I don’t believe that Jesus ever used any words that did not have a meaning. And when you think about “birth pangs,” we know that a woman suffers birth pangs up until the time a baby is delivered. The birth pangs increase in frequency and intensity, and the mother suffers tremendous pain until the final release when the child is born and everything settles down.
In the same way, we are going through the birth pangs that are increasing in frequency and intensity until the return of Christ. That is when all of this pain, suffering, fear, and uncertainty in the world today will end. And like a prospective mother, there is no getting out of it. The whole world has to go through these birth pangs. There is no C-section for the world, spinal blocks, or even strong pain killers. The birth pangs will and must continue until the Lord returns.
That is when all of the suffering comes to an end, once Jesus establishes his kingdom on earth.
Finding hope
So, in the midst of all of this tribulation, where will a person find hope?
Jesus Christ is the only source of hope on which we can rely. We don’t have to wait for His return, we can find comfort and hope in Him right now.
The mere knowledge that all of this is meant to happen is clear evidence of the truth of the prophecies of the Bible. And if the prophecies have come true so far, then we can be assured that everything else that was prophesied will also unfold according to the exact plan that God established before He even created the earth.
Many Christians are praying for the earthquakes, famines, pestilences, wars, and so on, to stop. I have to say that there is no point in doing that because they are meant to happen.
Instead, pray for the strength and comfort of the Lord in these times. Pray for the peace that comes from God to stabilise you in these times. Grow closer to the Lord and seek Him at all times, and do not fear the trials and troubles of the world around you, but take hope in the knowledge that things are not out of control.
Everything is in perfect control under the hand of God. So, do not fear but seek Christ Jesus and you will find hope.
Since retiring from work, John Lemmon now spends his time teaching, preaching and writing about the word of God, online and offline, answering God's call on him to “Speak to my people.” You can connect with John on Twitter (@JohnBLemmon) or on his website: freegiftfromgod.com/ or listen to his podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-free-gift-from-god-podcast/id1440682375