By Dale Shumaker
As a child I grew up in a Pentecostal church.
I heard this over and over again... He is coming
soon. When we hear something over and over
again we tend to be less sensitive to it and
relaxed about it.
We don't know when our life ends. I
realized this when I had a near-death
experience. I know life can end
suddenly. Quickly, unexpected. A
sense of urgency has been with
me ever since.
"When people are saying,
"Everything is peaceful and secure,"
then disaster will fall on them as suddenly
as a pregnant woman's labor pains begin.
And there will be no escape.
1 Thess. 5:3
This week the suddenly of the end was
on my mind.Things can change quickly.
God lets things happen in a blink of
the eye speed.
I tend to be a weather watcher. I have
told people another vocation I might
have chosen is being a meteorologist.
I find the weather intriguing, and hard
to predict. You must monitor it constantly
to see the trend it is taking.
Thursday was one of those unusual days.
In the beginning of the day, it was to
be a normal hot summer day. Then in the
middle of the afternoon I saw a severe
thunderstorm watch was issued for my
area. In a few hours this big blob of a
storm showed up on the radar heading
directly toward me. It looked intense.
But by the time it
get to north Springfield it began
breaking up. It started suddenly, then
ended suddenly.
Then I saw another line in western Missouri
forming and seeming to intensify as it
got closer. It again split as it got to
me and the worst went west of me.
Those there had many trees uprooted and
damage to personal property. It was
a powerful storm, moving quickly with
gusts of winds hitting 80 mph some
places.
The most tragic part it headed south
to over Table Rock Lake. A Ride the
Ducks boat got surprised by it
when crossing the lake. It was reported
17 people perished as the boat
sank from the high wind and high
waves, over 5 feet they said. The boat was
not designed for such a fierce storm.
They had near hurricane strength winds.
The storm came up suddenly
and unexpectedly. Those in the area said
it was the worst they had ever seen there.
It caused me to reflect on what the
Spirit was saying to me all week. Be ready,
He will come suddenly. It seems peaceful
and safe but then destruction will come.
I know tornadoes come up
suddenly. You must be ready and prepared
because when they come up they come
up quickly and a person must act quickly.
It's too late to prepare then, you must be
prepared before.
Remember the Parable of the Ten Virgins:
4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along
with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time
in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out:
‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.
8 The foolish ones said to the wise,
‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
13 “Therefore keep watch,
because you do not know the day or the hour.
Matthew 25
It seems the world is moving toward
safety, peace, prosperity. What this will do is
cause us to fall into a mental, spiritual lull.
We will think all is fine and lose sight
of this is when Jesus will come,
and it will be quickly.
"Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me,
to repay to each man according to his work.
Rev. 22:12
Be ready, stay at work.
Keep your lamps full of His oil.
In prayer, we get discernment for all
things. As we grow in prayer, our
sense of what's just ahead sharpens, it
gets even more keen. We can sense it
and identify it.
One aspect of Living Your Magnificent Mission
is it prepares us to be ready continually,
and stay at work on the Mission He has
given us. Stay in the Word, stay in Prayer,
and stay at the work He has for you.
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