Troublesome Topic: Don’t Freak Out Just Because Things Get Tough

The pattern I have observed is that, for American believers who have become accustomed to life being relatively easy, every time things start getting tough, they assume the “end times” are upon us. Just like they assume that anyone who wants to take over the world is the Antichrist, they assume problems and hardship spell the end of time.

Let me list for you some times in the past when American Christians thought the end of the world was near simply because things had gotten tough, but they were proven wrong:

Any time our country has gone to war such as – Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Korea, WWII, WWI, etc.,

Any time of international crisis such as – 911, the Cold War, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban missile crisis,

Any time we read a story of human depravity reaching new level of evil such as – serial killers, a bomb going off on a plane, in a building or somewhere else, 911,

Any time persecution of believers around the world ramps up, such as – Isis, Boko Haram, Taliban, Al Qaeda, the governments of China and North Korea, etc.

Any time of financial crisis: – Wikipedia’s list of economic recessions for the USA indicates that from 1785 to 2020, there have been 50 recessions, depressions or panics, 6 of them since 1980.

There is plenty of reason to freak out if you want to, but why do that to yourself?

Wake up to reality! Problems and hardships are a normal part of the human experience! We should expect hardship! We should expect Satan to attack us in m any different ways, some individually and some as a group. There is an old saying that goes like this: “If you haven’t met Satan face to face you’re going the same direction he is.” We should expect our faith and commitment to be challenged regularly.

None of this stuff is unique. None of it is fulfillment of specific prophecies. So don’t freak out about it. Jesus said to not be alarmed, so why are you alarmed?

If we freak out because things are getting a bit tough, what kind of basket case will we be when true persecution does come? I personally think the problem is that we are focused on ourselves; we are self-centered, wanting ease and comfort – two things which God never promised us. We need to start focusing solely on God and commit to living, and even dying, for His glory.

Some of you will say, “I don’t freak out about stuff, I just think it means His coming is very close.” To those of you saying that, I encourage you to read through all my stuff on prophecy and then see if you still feel that the prophecies about His return are clear enough to enable you to say with confidence that His return is very near.

The next lesson is: A Problem for Institutionalized Churches