God Almighty wants all human beings to understand that he is the creator and so much in control. When you read the bible, it exposes the characteristics of God. We learn from the bible, that he gets upset, because of wickedness, for when he examines the whole world, he sees the bad attitudes, the pride, the sins, etc. The scripture says, ‘The arrogance of man (humans) will be brought low, and the pride of men will be humbled…’ Isaiah 2:17
What’s happening now is biblical; God has paralysed the world many times before right from the days of Noah; (Genesis 6:5-6) Years later, when the Prophet Daniel saw that the Israelites at that time were brought down to their knees, because of the bad things they were doing, including idol worship, he prayed, ‘Father God, you are great and awesome, you keep your covenant of love with all who love you, and obey your commands; we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws; we have not listened…please have mercy on us and forgive us… Daniel 9:4-23…Daniel understood that he had to confess his sins and the sins of his people (the Israelites), in order for God to turn things around. Eventually, while he was praying the Angel Gabriel appeared to him, and said, ‘An answer has been given…’ he then showed him a vision about Christ.
The bible speaks to generations of mankind, forever deliberate and urgently; sometimes, people think Yahweh God is silent (that’s also part of his character). But God has a way of using his people to awaken those who are sleeping. But, sometimes when you try to wake somebody up, and they still don’t want to wake up, in the end, what do you do? You guessed it – you leave them alone. When I was living in the village, a rooster would call around six in the morning, and then would repeat it again at different times during the day; a calling so loud that it makes you go alert. We learn that, God used a rooster’s call to remind Apostle Peter of his sin.
Moreover, when God shakes our personal lives or the world, it is his way of waking us up – to think about salvation. The scripture says, ‘God is our refuge and strength, always helping in times of trouble… Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall. He makes wars cease to the ends of the world. Psalm 46
And then it goes on to say, ‘God says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth,’ then in (psalm 50:10-11) He says, ‘Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine…for the whole world is mine and all that is in it.’
Nowadays nations are brought to their knees with fear and uncertainty, while other creatures are getting on with their lives, doing what they are supposed to do. The scripture says, ‘God Almighty planned it, to bring low the pride … and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.’ Isaiah 23:9
God knows many have gone astray, engrossed in their pride to pursue their own plans; man-kind has built pillars of pride – personal achievements, economic system, false beliefs, high education, scientific resolutions, disobedience, etc. So, what does God do? He shakes all the pillars. The scriptures God says, ‘I have cut off nations; their strongholds are demolished; I have left their streets deserted… (Zephaniah 3:6). He stood, and shook the earth; he looked and made the nations tremble; (Habakkuk 3:6 NIV)
We are definitely experiencing a warning sign from God – a humbling process; that means a person has to sit down and do some self-examination before God; are you on His side or Satan’s side? And those who go to church – are you pursuing righteousness or a hypocrite? Are you living a life God approves? This is definitely a time of reflection and changing. The scr. says, ‘Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, (love of God, Jesus and your neighbour) and break up your useless ground (sin); for it is time to seek the Lord…’ Hosea 10:12
God says, ‘I created you in your mother’s womb, I put a spirit in you.’ (Psalm 104:30, 139:13 & Jeremiah 1:5)
God does things with good intentions; he wants people to turn to Jesus for he established eternal life in his Son, in him we gain forgiveness and eternal life. And he wants us to change our crooked thinking and ways; for many have moved away from the biblical guidance – now he wants us to go back to the Bible; God Almighty purifies a human being through Jesus and the Bible. Jesus is the Word of God; (John 1:1) the script. says, ‘He commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed (Jesus). He has given proof to all men by raising him from the dead.’
I was reading the conversation between the Jesus and the Jews; I have to tell you – it is intense; the Jews/Israelites, as you are aware, came from one family (Jacob and his sons) and expanded into twelve tribes; in the end, God chose to teach them righteousness based on his commandments; so, they thought they knew about God, but in this passage Jesus is telling them that they needed to know more, that without his sacrifice for our sins, and the shading of his blood there is no forgiveness. (John 6:26-55) In addition, they had put his words into practice.
God wants us to understand, the old Testament represents the beginning of His plan and the New Testament is the end of his plan. Jesus said, ‘I’m the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (Revelation 22:12-13) – telling us, that the message of God ends with him, and there is no other plan a human being can gain the forgiveness of God. For God (Yahweh) uses the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from sins. Apostle Paul explained how God commanded Moses to use the blood of sacrificed animals, and when Jesus came, all that stopped – God Almighty established a new covenant through Jesus Christ based on his mercy. (Hebrews 9)
We are going through a storm, but we have to remember storms are temporary; every problem is designed to last a short time or vice versa; life is a journey and a learning experience; mankind has gone through a lot of storms – wars, diseases, hunger, etc. And Jesus said, ‘Nation will rise against nation; kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes in various places; all these are the beginning of birth pains.’ But what else do we learn from the Bible? When people humble themselves, God calms down the storms; for He is very compassionate and knows that, we are just human beings, we get scared easily, and without his help, we are helpless. (Psalm 145 :9) We also learn from the Bible that, God disciplines everyone – to teach us righteousness. And that’s His way of helping us to gain salvation. Heb. 12:7-12.
God Almighty is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made, and He is near to all who call on him in truth (through Jesus). He fulfils the desires of those who fear him, he hears their cry and saves them. Psalm 145:17-19
Apostle Paul preached the gospel extensively, going from one region to another, urging people to turn from darkness to light (Jesus), and from the power of the devil to God. He loved and served God and Jesus Christ with all his heart, mind, soul and strength. He is an inspiration. (Acts 26:15-18) May God bless you with peace.