John 14:18-21 

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” 

It is 3:30 in the morning and my mind wakes me, as it seems to do every morning about this time, with the spiritual anxieties that I wrestle with seemingly constantly these days. I feel the walls of the world closing in around us. I fear for my fellow Christians and those that God has placed in my charge. I worry for the people around me, both saved and not yet saved. The devil does not even try to hide anymore. And we do most of his work for him these days! 

I awaken lamenting everything going on today in this nation and in the world that is so far against God and any semblance of moral uprightness that it staggers the imagination to think it could really happen! The atrocities that, even a decade ago, would have been quashed by the public, let alone the laws of the nation, are being rammed down our throats with the expectation of not only swallowing but requests for more helpings! Atrocities against gender, against race, against our very faith, and against our CHILDREN are now commonplace and being literally signed into laws all over the country. 

Once more we see prophecy fulfilled, this time before our very eyes. And yet we wonder at the fact that the average person cannot see it. But isn’t that part of the prophecy? Yes, we are warned that God will give many over to delusion. They made their choice, and He will honor that choice, as much as it pains Him to have to do so. And yet those of us in the thick of it cannot imagine the inability to see what is plainly written and what is happening before our eyes.  

My concern is first for the congregants of the ministry God has brought me to lead. I fear for each of them because of what is happening in the surrounding communities that I know is coming to ours. I know that their faith is strong. Is it strong enough? “That is why I have put you here,” I hear Jesus tell me. “A pastor’s job is to shepherd the flock. You are to guide My sheep in truth, strengthening their faith. You are to protect and feed My sheep.” But I fear falling short of His expectations of me.  

I also worry for those unchurched in our community, including those who believe they are churched but that have been deceived by false doctrines. I am desperate to reach them and draw them in. But the desperation is tempered by fear of failure. Yet I know that God is the one who draws them. We plant and He brings forth the seedlings. We water and He brings forth the growth. Oh Lord, how I long to see growth here in our community.  

There is so much work to be done. And so many hands must be on the plows to help in this work. I do my best to motivate and draw people into the joyful labors of God’s fields. But I know that many are tired, and others are fearful. My job is to get them past those hindrances because I know that when many in the community see them at the plow others will wonder in amazement and wish to join us. But how do I reassure them that this is a worthwhile endeavor when they see communities disintegrating into chaos around them in the country? How do I convince them that Christ’s beautiful words apply to this labor: “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light…” (Matthew 11:30) 

I have so much love for this community, its people, its children. And I worry about what is being forced on people. The wave is coming, and it will overtake and wash over us just as it has other towns and cities. The wave is wokeness. The wave is materialism. The wave is moral depravity. And the Wave is the normalization and even expectation of compliance with all of these things. The wave, as assuredly as any tidal wave, kills. This one will take so many to the second death it is painful to contemplate. And yet that is what I awaken with at 3:30 AM this morning, and many other mornings. God has drawn me up in the midst of this and I have difficulty keeping my peace.  

But I know I am not alone! God has drawn up others. He has drawn up other pastors who help build me up. He has drawn up elders and deacons and deaconesses who are so supportive and ready to bear the yoke together. He has imbued us with His Holy Spirit so that we have Him constantly with us, guiding us and giving us hope and courage! And this knowledge builds me up and gives me His peace! And when the walls seem the closest, about to stifle me and stamp out my will to continue fighting the world, I am reminded of the comforting words that Jesus gave His disciples: 

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world givers do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (John 14:27) 

We have His peace, a peace that transcends the world around us and puts us in touch with the heavenly throne room of God. In the end, all will work out according to His divine and perfect will. I must armor up and gird up my loins for the work ahead. I must be a faithful servant to my Lord, and do His will, and be a good soldier of God in this spiritual war we find ourselves in. And when all is said and done, Christ Jesus is on the throne, He is in control, He has already won, and He will bring us home as His own! And that gives me joy. That gives me peace.