Dr. Mike Murphy
November 13, 2022
As Bill arrived home, he could not believe what he saw. The call from his neighbor alarmed him, but it did not come close to preparing him for what his eyes showed him. As he looked at his house, there was very little there. A few feet of wall stood at certain places, but the whole of his house now rested in a pile, looking like it had been demolished by a ball and crane.
As Bill began to hear a neighbor describe what he had seen happen, Bill stood even more confused. He heard described to him how the roof of his house had suddenly begun to collapse. And as it did, the rest of the house fell under it. All Bill could think was, “How is this possible, how can a roof just suddenly collapse?” Bill knew the roof was not great, but could not imagine that it would come to this. Yes, he had been warned that the roof was sagging and in need of great repair. The one who built his house years before had warned him, and had even offered to reconstruct it for him. He had noticed the spots of rotting, and he had been aware of leaks that had formed. In Bill’s mind, this was nothing that a little patch and repair here and there would take care of, getting him many more years out of his roof. But as Bill looked at what little was left of his house, he began to wonder if he had somehow missed, or overlooked, the warning signs.
“Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the LORD of armies says: ‘Return to Me,’ declares the LORD of armies, ‘that I may return to you,’ says the LORD of armies.(Zechariah 1:3)
Stop for a second and listen closely. Do you hear the continuous cracking and the creaks? Do you see the constant drips and the small puddles forming? For years, we have watched this happening, but we have all looked to ignore it. But now, as we look at the roof that stands on the house of this nation, we see the sagging has become clearly defined, and we see the water pouring through in more than just drips.
For years upon years, the Lord has stood patient with our nation(Exodus 34:6). But with each passing year, we have only been found testing His patience more. With each call He has given us to turn to Him, we have only found ourselves running further from him. And now, we find that we have run so far in the wrong direction, that we are lost. But even lost, we still think we know better the direction of our next step, instead of seeking Him to bring us out of this darkness and back into the light(Job 12:22). A darkness that now so surrounds us, that a future may no longer be made known to us.
In the coming days, our nation may well see some very troubling times. And for the Church in this nation, those days may be just as troubling. We have become a Church that often finds it easier to appease this culture than we seek to please God. A Church that often finds it easier to justify sin than to stand firm with a loud voice about the danger that sin holds. But as trouble comes, culture will not remember that appeasement, it will only remember our association with Him. And as our society looks to blame God for its troubles, it will be the Church they will soon be found pointing their finger straight at.
So where does this leave the Church, in the nation, if these days soon approach? With the greatest of opportunities, and the strongest of hope! John 1:5 tells us, “And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.” The Greek word for “grasp” in this verse means, “to take hold of, to seize and make one’s own”. The darkness of this world cannot overtake and defeat the light. As the light of Christ is reflected through us, we hold the promise that the darkness cannot and will not, overcome us. The darkness may attack us, it might seek to persecute us, and it will do all it can to silence us, but the bottomline is, darkness has no power over us, and stands in fear before the Light that shines through us(John 3:20).
It is past time that we, as “Couch Potato Christians”, got up off our rear ends, found our way to His fields, and made ourselves busy at the work He is calling us to. Not waiting for that tomorrow to come, but finding ourselves preparing for that coming day. The simple truth is, if we are unwilling to take that stand for Him today, then we will probably be found cowering in the darkness tomorrow as that day comes. A stand He is calling us to today that does not find us having to drop all that our lives are involved in, but finds us being willing to do the smallest of things for Him. A willingness in us to share His Word with others when the opportunities arise. A willingness in us to help do the little things that will make the biggest difference in bringing the Good News to those who need to hear the hope it holds. And a willingness that is found in a servant’s heart, one that finds us with our hand raised as we say, “Yes Lord, use me!”
The darkness that tomorrow could soon bring should not bring this Church to its knees out of fear, but bring us to our knees before Him out of hope and praise. A hope that should find us doing all we can today, so that light will shine as bright as possible in that darkness tomorrow. As the warning signs flash in our eyes and echo through our ears of what tomorrow soon holds, let Him find me in His fields today. Doing all I can today, so that His Light will shine just a little brighter in that darkness tomorrow.
Ask yourself today, how bright does His light now shine in me?
