I had a dream a few nights ago.
I was running along with a crowd of people up a grassy hill. An earthquake or flood or something of that nature was causing us to seek higher ground. As we scrambled for our lives I managed to get to the summit of the small hill. Suddenly the ground turned into silty, wet sand and began to swallow people up. They disappeared around me and I began to sink as well. In less than a second, I was up to my waist. I grabbed the ground and discovered it was solid rock about the size of a 55-gallon barrel, though everything around it continued to crumble.
I tried to get footing on the loose sand but couldn’t; all I could do was cling to the rock. I looked to my left and saw a man sinking and screaming for help. I reached out to him but couldn’t lunge without loosing my grip on the rock. I wanted desperately to help him, but I was unable and had to witness him and several others sink away.
I looked ahead and saw trees not far away, thinking perhaps I could use the rock as footing to lunge across the gap, I could then grab hold of a tree trunk and escape the sand. I leaned over the rock to gauge the distance and as I did so, saw the ground give way and become a bottomless chasm with debris swirling into it. The trees gave way and fell into it as well.
I could literally do nothing but cling to the rock as everything around me crumbled and people I wanted to help were lost. The world was being destroyed.
From the ends of the earth,
Psalm 61:2-3 NLT
I cry to you for help
when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me to the towering rock of safety,
for you are my safe refuge,
a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.
Of course, every Christian should immediately understand the meaning of that dream. From cover to cover the Bible describes God as our rock and our refuge. The verses using that imagery are innumerable. As the world becomes more chaotic and the people more desperate, we must cling to the rock. New Christians learn this on day one, seasoned believers repeat it to themselves often and teach it to their friends and children. That’s not new.
What is new, for me anyway, is the realization that there may be nothing we can do about our crumbling world. People and institutions may be as good as gone. It may be that they’re intended to sink into the chasm of God’s judgment. I don’t like the thought of that, but I can hardly argue with God about a nation embracing debauchery, pedophilia, corruption and injustice not deserving it.
We’ve been reading through C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia as a family at the dinner table. We’re almost done with The Last Battle and most of us cringe reading it. It’s often a downer of a book. In all of the other Narnia books the good guys win fantastic victories, but in The Last Battle everything just seems to get worse as the story progresses. The world crumbles away because it was what Aslan allowed.
Perhaps those perpetuating the evils in our world can be saved but we may not be able to reach them in time. Some will be left on the other side of the stable door as they were in the last days of Narnia.
All I could do was cling to the rock and watch it go.
Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Exodus 14: 13-14 NIV
Lately God has been speaking to me more and more about what facets of our current struggles I can and cannot affect. He’s impressed on me to spend more time praying and interceding for the things I want to see restored instead of lobbying inept or wretched politicians and corporations. He’s been calming my spirit about corruption at the highest levels of government and prompting me to disengage from societal norms in favor of radical Jesus stuff.
This is where I am. I believe it’s where we need to be.
Speak, minister, make declarations, pray, worship, prepare, expose, educate. But in all things cling to the rock because when the trumpet blows – and it may be soon – it will be all you can do.
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Here’s an interesting article by John Piper from 1993 about the wrath of God. I’d be interested in knowing what you think about it.
Looking for a fun new story to share as a family? Check out The Dread Pirate Roberts, my fan fiction sequel to The Princess Bride now available for free in its entirety.
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