Others will suffer because of the wickedness of others, not because they are necessarily a Christian, but because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. In a world filled with evil predators, being street wise, and taking all the extra precautions will not always protect you from an onslaught of tragedy. Again, these unfortunate people cannot claim they have suffered for the cause of Christ. However, in the later case God can and will use such suffering (trials and tribulations) for your eternal good for the good of others depending on how well you stand up under it.

Another type of suffering which will greatly increase in the last days is through famine, disease, plagues, and all manner of so called natural disasters. Again we cannot claim that this suffering is for the cause of Christ. I cannot stress how important it is to allow these trials and tribulations have their full effect. I know at this point many will be tempted to ask, “Why is God allowing this to happen to me or to my family!” Many of us have already experienced the horrific outcome of an earthquake, flooding, hurricane, tornado, or a raging forest fire. We may have already experienced the extreme pain of a debilitating disease or one of the many plagues descending upon the planet. And as they increase in number and severity it is essential that we understand God’s role in it and our Christian response.

The best starting place is to look at it from God’s vantage point, to look at it from an eternal perspective. Almost always we tend to look at things from a very limited perception. We are so caught up in the immediate pain and the trauma of the moment it is very difficult to see or grasp what is happening. If we look at our suffering from God’s eternal perspective then our tragic circumstance is only a millisecond in comparison to eternity. Moreover, God will use our experience to strengthen our character and total dependence on Him. If we approach our suffering with the right attitude knowing that the testing of our faith develops perseverance and if we allow our perseverance to finish its work then we will be made mature and complete lacking nothing. (See James 1:2-4) As the metal passes through the furnace to remove the dross and strengthen the alloy so we too must pass through the furnace of affliction to be made perfect in Christ Jesus.

On the other hand, very few in the Untied States actually suffer for the cause of Christ. Why is that? Simply put it is because they are so similar to others; their sameness will not allow them to suffer, but if they were truly different from the world then they would suffer. This is another reason why tolerance is so popular in today’s world because they can appear to be the same and not take a course of being different which would always bring about swift rebuke from the world. As we near the end there will be two kinds of Christian, one that will look and act just like the world, while the other will grow further apart from the world looking more like Jesus Christ. This later group, which we will refer to as true believers in Christ will suffer persecution as polarization increases between good and evil.  However we view suffering we must view it as a benefit given to us by God for our spiritual growth in Christ, so that we may truly participate in the fellowship of His sufferings. To stand firm in the last days we must seek total transformation in Christ Jesus praising His name to be counted worthy to suffer for Him.

As we enter one of the most aggressive hurricane seasons on record, I cannot even imagine what a hurricane would do with oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Dealing with oil on the beach is one thing, but what if we had to deal with it in our streets, in our businesses, in our homes? What if we had to rescue humans covered in oil? What if this is no longer isolated to just the Gulf Coast but found its way up the great rivers to our inner cities? Now imagine if you will, the dispersants mixed with oil which could possibly cause untold diseases and catastrophic health hazards of a biblical proportion. It staggers the imagination, or is it prophetic?

What if we are dealing with the wrath of God? The Bible clearly indicates that during the Great Tribulation that his angels, “will pour out his bowl (God’s wrath) on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.” (Revelation 16:3) The shocking truth about this prophecy is that dead man’s blood is a brownish red color that is very similar to that of the oil spill. And we have all seen the devastation it has had on the wildlife. Our hearts have broken when we have seen birds and other wildlife struggle to free themselves from the encasement of oil.
God loves you. He loves His world, but he will not allow greed which is idolatry to capture the souls of men. He will not stand by idle as lawlessness ravages the helpless and drugs rob a man of his character. He will not turn a blind eye to the hate that pits one man against another. He will not rest as man destroys the world and himself in the process. God will continue to pour His wrath down on a wicked world until everyone who is called repents of their sin and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. God will not rest until all that is destined to be saved are saved.

No matter how hard we try to reverse the effects of these plagues they will only get worse until Christ returns at the end of the age to rapture His Church and send the evil doer to hell and eternal punishment. Christians must strengthen their faith and boldly witness to their neighbor while time is still left to do so. There will come a time when no man will receive your witness, but blame you for what is happening in the world. Christians can no longer remain silent!