February 5: Of Devastation and Despair and Deliverance

Exodus 21:22-23:13

Matthew 24:1-28

Psalm 29:1-11

Proverbs 7:6-23

Can you imagine what must it have been like in 70AD, when Titus and the Romans completely destroyed Jerusalem?  Did the Jews see it coming?  Were they in denial?  How terrible must it have been to witness a destruction so thorough that the NIV Bible notes say "stones [of the temple building] were even pried apart to collect the gold leaf that melted from the roof when the temple was set on fire"?

It is tempting to hope that the devastation Jesus describes in today's NT reading has already happened, that we need not worry about it any longer.  And yet…wars (check).  Rumors of wars (check).  Nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom, famines, earthquakes - check, check, check, check.  Pandemic - extra credit, check.

Worse: people turning away from the faith, betraying and hating each other, false prophets (hello, prosperity gospel, I'm looking at you!).  The love of agape, philia and storge have cooled, having been replaced by eros or, worse, narcissism.  And it isn't just in China where Christians are being persecuted - just ask the Little Sisters of the Poor.  

Faced with all this, why shouldn't we be afraid, and in despair?  Where do we find deliverance?  We find our comfort and security in the God the psalmist describes.  We are to ascribe to Him "glory and strength".  He is powerful - so much so His voice "breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon", "strikes with flashes of lightning", and "shakes the desert".  We take comfort because this is our God - who gives strength to us, His people; who blesses us, His people, with peace.  

Father, sometimes it is really, really easy to fall into despair and hopelessness, what with everything going on in the world.  When we are tempted to do so, remind us You are in control, You love us, You give us Your strength, and You bless us with Your peace - which, as Paul described, "surpasses all understanding".