If we could take a glimpse of the world’s landscape from an astronomical standpoint, we would see earth in excruciating pain—bruised and inflamed by hate. This wretched spirit is on a rampage and has executed some horrendous acts—leaving in its aftermath sorrow and suffering. I have never seen such intensified evilness in my lifetime as I see today. I can only describe it as hate on steroids.
Be careful—watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart. 9 Stand firm when he attacks. Trust the Lord; and remember that other Christians all around the world are going through these sufferings too (1Peter 5:8-9, LAB).
What is God showing us—about us?
God has pulled back the drapes so we can see the mess we created by ignoring Him. He will not tolerate being relegated to a position other than number One in our lives. Every time the world tries to remove God, the results are our downfall. Jesus said in the last days iniquity will abound, and the love of many shall wax cold (see Matthew 24:12).
We can certainly attest to that when we see strangers hating one another on sight for no apparent reason. Racial tension is mounting as prejudice and injustice are normalized with hypocrisy. Hate crimes are performed without showing any signs of remorse. We can’t even come together on one accord in a worldwide crisis.
We’re never going to agree on everything, and that’s okay. It’s healthy to bring different points of view to the table; that broadens our perspective and understanding. However, what’s not okay is when we rely on hateful measures to settle our differences.
Those of us who know Christ recognize we are in a spiritual war, and you don’t bring toy weapons (egos, biases, and squabblings) to a spiritual fight. The only way to fight demoniac spirits is with the Spirit of God. (See Ephesians 6:11-18.)
I keep telling you I don’t write these posts off the top of my head; I wait for the LORD to inspire me in the direction He wants me to go. And for this week and last week, He’s warning us to love one another, without exception. We don’t have to like a person’s ways, but we do have to love them by treating them the same way we would want to be treated. (Matthew 7:12)
The gates of hell are flung open, and hate is charging out on steroids!
See you next time on Paulette Talks Faith.
© 2021
(LAB) Life Application Bible copyright © 1988 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189.