In the Day of Trouble
By Hal Lindsey
A deep darkness is settling over the world. Deadly deceptions flow through our televisions, smartphones, radios, and across the vast pages of the internet. 2 Timothy 3:8 speaks of people who “oppose the truth, men of depraved mind.” Romans 1 shows us what happens what nations turn against God. Romans 1:28 says, “Just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind.”
It has happened many times through history, but never so quickly nor across the entire world at once. I hear well-meaning Americans speak of moving to another country. But where would they move? The depravity of mind growing across planet earth today knows no national boundaries.
It’s a natural reaction to want to run and hide. But there’s only one real shelter. In Psalm 32:7, David said to the Lord, “You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance.” In Psalm 46:1, he said, “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”
Worried about the nefarious schemes of the wicked — schemes to destroy the good in your country and the world? Claim this promise to God’s people from Psalms 31:20. “You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man.” Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms.”
In a world of increasing violence, how sweet to remember 2 Samuel 22:3. “My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence.”
Remember what Jeremiah 16:19 says about security in times of danger and anxiety. “O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, And my refuge in the day of distress.” Nahum 1:7 puts it like this. “The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him.”
2 Timothy 3:1 says, “In the last days perilous times shall come.” It then lists attitudes of those days — attitudes that are with us today at stunning levels. We live in dangerous days, and they’re getting worse. But in Psalm 50:15, God says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”
This is not a time to cower in fear, but to walk confidently in Him. We have a job to do — a great commission to fulfill. Jesus gave us that commission in Matthew 28:19-20. He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Even in these dark days near the end of the age, He remains with us. Jesus began the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18. He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” The One in Whom all authority has been invested promises to walk with us and keep us. That should give us the courage and impetus to work ever more diligently to “make disciples.”
