Our Troubled Earth
“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travileth in pain together until now.” (Rom. 8:22).
A look at any newspaper headline or TV newscast today has numerous stories of disasters affecting our earth. We have fires, floods, droughts, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and hurricanes. There are wars, pestilences and famines everywhere. We indeed live on a troubled earth. Jesus warned us of these times immediately proceeding His return. “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. (Matt. 24:7). I find it ironic that when so many of these disasters happen we blame God! Of course we never blame ourselves! These disasters may be judgment from God or the natural result of our disobedience to God and His laws. Whichever it is, in the end we are to blame, not God.
God is the ruler of the earth and will not allow anything to happen that He does not want. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Psa. 24:1) He can change the direction of a storm in a second if that is His will. He is allowing or causing these things to happen to get our attention so that we will repent. We are making a horrible mess of this world by not obeying God’s laws and He is trying to warn us.
God gave man dominion over the earth to manage it and to take care of it, not to exploit and destroy it, which is what we are doing today. In Deut. 20: 19&20 and Deut. 22: 4&6 God shows us how we are to manage our trees, cattle and wildlife, but we have abandoned these laws saying that they do not apply anymore and we know better. We are now seeing the consequences of our disobedience. We are losing our fish, timber and wildlife. “Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.” (Hos. 4:1-4). “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” (Hos. 4:6). We have forgotten our God and exploited and abused all the wonderful things that He has given us, therefore our children and all the earth is suffering for our sin.
We have allowed big business and the multi-nationalists to buy and manage our precious resources. They are only concerned with profits and don’t care about our lands, the lands that God gave us to use and to take care of, not to give away. We may now still live in these lands but we do not really own them.
Pollution is causing havoc on the earth and many health related illnesses are due to this. We have a rising world population, global change, disappearing rainforests, which produce most of our oxygen, etc. Our earth is in a crisis that no man can fix and unless our Lord returns soon we are doomed. Most Christians today, who should know better, are completely unaware of how bad the situation is. They go about their weekly religious lives without putting any thought into what is really happening to our earth. If they do comment at all, they say “Oh these things have all happened before. It doesn’t mean anything.” They are so caught up in their own lives and troubles that they do not see it or at least don’t want to see what is happening. Throughout all of the tragedies befalling us I have not heard anyone say we must ask for God’s forgiveness of our sins. They want God to help them but they don’t want to do their part in the relationship. What will it take to humble us? I guess only time will tell, but it is coming soon. Things are rapidly getting worse.
Our Lord is coming soon to destroy those who are destroying His creation. I find the following verses very comforting.
“Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reed and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isa. 35: 4-10).
Writer’s Note: After selecting this article for publication, I started to reflect on Jeremiah 30:15, “Why criest thou for thine affliction? Thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.” Then I thought, “It is interesting at this time how people are starting to cry out and complain about all the trouble they are finding themselves in and yet they refuse to acknowledge the source of their affliction. Unfortunately, though, unless we repent and turn away from our wicked sins our affliction and our sorrow will continue to increase. “For thus saith the Lord, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous. There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines. All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.” (Jer. 30:12-14).
The Lord is judging our earth. We must make ourselves ready. “For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.” (Jer.30:17).
