July 23, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“‘I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the Lord Almighty. But who will be able to withstand His coming?” (Malachi 3.1-2a)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD TO US:

Most of us are familiar with the phrasing, “The calm before the storm.” We have experienced that truth in one form or another. We understand it even though we cannot explain it. One image of that truth happened on December 25, 2004, in Thailand. It was on that day that the sea rolled back like a scroll tightly wound but pulled out to be read and then released. The only difference would have been that the sea rolled back out with such a vengeance that its fury swept deep onto the shore reaching inland 2.5 miles. It was then that the power of a 100 foot wave finally died. Along with it over 227,000 people died as well. We have seen news of other tsunamis which present themselves in the same fashion, even a powerful hurricane will do above the sea what an earthquake will do under it. In 2004, it was a 9.1 magnitude earthquake. In Florida it was a Category 5 hurricane named Milton which road up the west coast in the summer of 2023. The water was pulled out of Tampa Bay and then rushed back inland flooding the city and surrounding communities. It was the Category 4 Hurricane named Helene which had already travelled a similar path but brought torrential rains to North Carolina and eastern Tennessee with flash floods like a tsunami of sorts. Earlier this month we know of the catastrophic flooding in the Central Texas hill country caused by a storm system that got captured in place releasing 15 trillion tons of water. Over 132 people including children at summer camps lost their lives. One moment, quiet flowing rivers and streams lulled campers to sleep. The next moment, literally in less than thirty minutes, rivers rose over thirty feet giving little warning and no time for escape. The calm before the storm. Who can withstand its coming?

Mighty ones of God, be forewarned: we are in the calm before the storm. You may not think things are calm. These are the biblical apocalyptic “birth pangs” which Jesus prophesied as recorded in Matthew 24 with “wars and rumors of wars; earthquakes, wind and fire.” We are surrounded on all sides by such calamity of “calm” that we don’t even want to think about the storm that will follow. We might say “If this is bad, then I don’t want to see worse!” But there will be worse times than those we are seeing. And even the believers will not escape it all as we move nearer to that terrible day. How can it be terrible? On that day, the Resurrected and glorified King of kings and Lord of lords will appear before all the nations of the world. All people on earth will bow their heads, bend their knees and recognize “the One who is to come.” They will all say, because it is an undeniable truth, “Jesus Christ is Lord!” They will not all believe it, however. Many, in fact the greater majority, have learned to feign allegiance with a belief that merely saying so will allow them to survive in troubled times to greet good times. They are no different than the kings and priests in the history of Israel who bowed their knees to foreign powers instead of turning their eyes to God. They scoff at the Word of God believing it will never happen to them until it does. Those who refuse to learn from history are committing themselves to repeat it. However, the day is coming when there will be no more repeating. Sadly, on that day there will be no more repenting. The world is facing its “last call” in this season of calm before the storm. And while we all pray for the calm and peace to reign over us, we have to embrace the truth that we must endure the storm of God’s wrath. In the days of Noah, it was a flood. In the day to come, it will be fire. When the storm of judgment comes, it will reign on the just and the unjust. The hope will be for those who put their trust in God and keep the faith in the midst of the storm and in spite of it. They will be caught up in it as if existing in the “eye of the storm” where there is peace and calm. While the storm rages beyond the wall of God’s fury, God’s people shall know smooth waters, calm seas, blue skies and the clarity of night until it becomes a never-ending day.

As for the rest? God is trying to help them in the here and now. God is expecting His spiritual lifeguards and safeguards, watchmen and women, to proclaim the acceptable day of the Lord. As we hear the word given to and through Malachi asking, “Who will be able to withstand His coming?” we know the answer. It will be those who trust in the Lord with all their heart and lean not on their own understanding. It will be those who truly know what it means to say “Lord, Lord.” They will be able to withstand His coming because they are rooted deeply into the soil of faith. They have built their homes on the solid rock of faith. They have surrendered their holds on the life preservers of the world and cling to the “Life Saver” of all eternity. He alone is our hope and stay!

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works which bring others near to Jesus in faith, hope and love. AMEN.