And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the seas and waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Luke 21:25-26
Isaiah 8:1 for the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honour as holy. Let him be your fear and let him be your dread.
Afghanistan, Haiti, Covid variant, potential vaccine passport requirement, wild fires, all heighten our awareness of last days with the imminent return of our Lord and our need to be ready.
Bishop Ellicott’s commentary notes state ~ Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. (26) Men’s hearts failing them for fear.—The verb so rendered is used by St. Luke only in the New Testament. Its literal meaning is to breathe out the soul, and it was, therefore, a word which would naturally enter into the vocabulary of a physician, both in its primary and figurative sense. The mental state which it expresses exactly agrees with that described in Acts 27:20, in connection with the tempest.
For looking after those things.—Literally, ‘for expectation’, the noun being used only by St. Luke in the New Testament.
The writer of Hebrews tells us one solution to “failing of hearts’ is the assembling of the body, not forsaking it and exhorting one another to remain assembled. While we understand the natural application of this, I want to consider with you the spiritual aspects of assembling the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25
If Satans’ great tactic is to divide and conquer us individually, it is because it ultimately impacts the assembly of the body of Christ, his church. It is from our own place of fear and need for control, we live from a place of self preservation, guarded and aloof from His body as opposed to a trust in our Father and from others. Let’s note ~ hearts fail from fear.
Ephesians tells us that the body grows and increases in love as each part does it share. Paul wrote also to the Corinthians that every part is a member individually with each part set as it pleases God. Every part is divinely connected to another forming the whole body fitly framed for the temple of the Lord to dwell in. We are individual members not independent ones.
There is a deception that lies within the church today; that we can be something solely with God, yet without others. The hurt, the offence, the unforgiveness, bitterness, strife and envy, work to keep us divided. Fear is a strategy of the evil one. Hearts fail from fear. This is common to all of us, but hearts must be healed through a willingness to humble ourselves to His word and each other for the purpose of remaining one body, united by one Spirit with one Lord who is over all and in all.
Somehow, I sense that in this assembling, we will find our greatest safety in the days ahead, spiritually as well as naturally. Lives threatened and hanging in the balance cry out for help. “All who believed were together and had all things in common”. In the midst of the Lord adding daily to his church, we see great persecution.
Today, it’s in the unity of the local body that He has placed us, we are collectively guarded, kept, watched over and prayed for. In our submission to one another out of reverence for Christ, we find community as our safe place. As our future unfolds, we truly do not know what we will face, except the potential for greater restrictions and hardships for His church, demanding our need for a community already established with a love held and trust built.
There is so much here to consider during the coming days. Facing greater pressure, we find the greater the need for abiding, both in Him and His body. As we see the days approaching, our vital connections help us guard our hearts, keep our heads right, bodies disciplined unto godliness, AND our hearts from failing!