Promises That Inspire Courage in Perilous Times

 Promises That Inspire Courage in Perilous Times – Jonathan Brentner - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/ The wickedness and violence that has engulfed so many countries warn us that God’s judgment must be ever so near. How much longer can it be before the Rapture, followed bythe seven-year tribulation, during which time God will pour out His wrath on this world? After hearing repeated threats of WWIII and deadly terror attacks, we sometimes wonder what horrors we might see or perhaps experience before we meet Jesus in the air. There was a day, a week or two ago, when I felt overwhelmed by anxiety because of these things. I knew better, but the feeling persisted. Much to my dismay, praying and quicklyreciting relevant Bible verses didn’t alleviate my feelings of dread. The Holy Spirit then reminded me of Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The sense of the command to “Be still” is that of quieting our thought patterns that keep us from resting in God’s assurances for our future. The Legacy Standard Bible translatesthe phrase as “Cease striving.” That was indeed what I wanted to do, but how? The greater context of Psalm 46:10 pointed my heart in the right direction. The Sons of Korah wrote Psalm 46 as a prophecy, one that’s ultimately intended to comfort the Israelites during the Tribulation. The conditions they describe in verses 2-3align closely with those the Apostle John wrote about in Revelation 6:12-15. Verses 8-9 of the Psalm point to the time at the end of Daniel’s seventieth week when the Lord, at His Second Coming, ends all the warfare and begins His thousand-year reign of peace. In the meantime, “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter,” that is, before Jesus speaks and changes everything with His “voice” (Psalm 46:6). We see examples of such fury inthe current Middle East war as well as in the fierce worldwide demonstrations in support of the Palestinians. Only Jesus can and will quell the uproar all around us today. For a short while, Israel will trust the antichrist to guarantee peace for them, but he will deceive them. Theywill end up fleeing for their lives as he will epitomize the murderous hatred of the crowds marching in support of Hamas. The good news is that the Israelites who remain until Jesus’ Second Coming will welcome Him as their Messiah. As my thoughts returned to these assurances, I felt God’s peace returning to my soul. However, it wasn’t until I reflected on Psalm 47 that I began to smile. The prophetic words of Psalm 47 explain what it means for our Lord to “be exalted among the nations” and “exalted on the earth.” Pay close attention to the words of verses1-4: “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah” (Emphasis added) These verses, as well as the rest of the Psalm, negate any possible interpretation that seeks to make these words about the church rather than Israel. Those who apply Psalm47 to the body of Christ must retrofit the clear meaning of the text with wisdom based solely upon human reasoning. The Sons of Korah prophesied concerning Jesus’ reign during the Millennium and the exalted place of Israel during this time. The praise of verses 6-7 brings this anticipation into the present as we worship the Lord because of the time that He will gloriously restore Israel and rule over all of theearth: “Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!” It was Psalm 46:10 and its context that quieted my soul and turned my fears into praise. The words and music of I Sing Praises to Your Name by Terry MacAlmon became my worshipfulresponse to the message of Psalms 46-47. Our immediate hope is different than that of the nation of Israel, but it’s the same God who promises a wondrous inheritance for us. The Bible tells us that someday we will meet Jesus in the air, and He will take us back to the place He’s preparing for us. As if that’s not enough, He promises to give usimmortal bodies at His appearing (John 14:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55). These are the promises of God’s Word. If you have ever ridden on the back of a motorcycle, holding on to the driver at high speeds, that’s how tightly we need to clutch God’s guarantees of future joy during theseperilous times. The ride may be bumpy, but we hang on as we follow the example of Abraham, who was “fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:21). The prophecies contained in Psalms 46 and 47, along with the numerous promises of Jesus’ appearing and our hope of reigning with Him someday, inspire courage in these periloustimes and calm troubled hearts.