How Long O Lord?

 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18


 A few months back as I was getting ready for church, I was told about one who took their life in a violent, tragic way.  They had lost almost everything.  Depression had overwhelmed them and they were fighting a battle with demons they felt they could not overcome.  I was grieved to the core.  Not only for the family who lost their loved one but grieved that the enemy won yet another battle.   Grieved at the depth of hopelessness that would cause one to take their own life.   For all that I can tell, the person breathed their last breath without knowing Christ as their Savior.  

 

As I drove to church, I did all I could to contain the tears as my heart grieved and as I asked the Lord, "How long?  How long will you let the enemy win?"  I felt a righteous anger well up in me toward the enemy who just keeps destroying.  Right now he seems to be winning on every side.  In politics.  In churches.  In families.  In the nation.  In marriages.  In the world.  In the lives of those I love.  I have had enough!

 

As I processed it all, of course, I remembered who ultimately is the victor.  For me, that brings hope and peace in the midst of the ugly.  I am grateful that God is going to crush the enemy once and for all someday.  I can not wait!  I heard someone say about God, "Even the darkness is not dark to You."  How true!  What strength that brings.  Even in the midst of darkness, God will get the glory and the victory.


Then my heart was turned to those without Christ.  How do they cope?  How do they survive?  I was saved at a young age so I don't remember the empty feeling that can come to the heart of one without Christ.  The closest I believe I ever came to feeling like that was one day as a teen, I suddenly had an overwhelming feeling of emptiness that washed over me.  As I talked to the Lord about it, I felt like He gave me a momentary taste of what life was like without Him in it.  It is a feeling I never care to repeat.   I know that too many walk around daily with that emptiness.  So what about the lost in these hard times?  


Christ is the answer.  He is what they need.  We have the gift of knowing Christ.  We can share truth and life with them.  Life right now is hard enough for those who know Christ.  Imagine not having the Hope we have.  Why would we just keep Christ to ourselves and let those around us wander around without Him?  We must,  MUST, share Christ with the hurting, lost around us.  Look around.  Ask God to give you opportunities.  Watch for the opportunities and then take them.  Maybe our opportunities are with family.  Could be neighbors or friends.  Maybe coworkers.  Or it could be a random stranger in the store or in the park.


I think back to the one who tragically took their life.  They were full of pain, anxiety, and depression.  They were without hope.  They needed to know the hope that is in Jesus Christ.  Did anyone know recognize their need for help?  Did they cross paths with believers who didn't care enough to get involved, share a word of hope, or take time to help?  I don't know the answer to those questions.  However, I do know that today and every day, we can take the opportunities God gives us.  We never know if today God will use us in small or huge ways.  We will never know if the opportunity God gives us today with someone is the last opportunity we will have with that person.  We simply need to be listening, watching, ready and waiting.  We need to be willing. Our time is short.


Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted.  Isaiah 12:4


When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.  Luke 12:11-12


However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace.  Acts 20:24

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