People are born for trouble as predictably as sparks fly upward from a fire.

—Job 5:7

4:12

16:33

Here is what we need to know: suffering will come. It’s not a matter of if but when and how much. We need to prepare for it.

If, as you are reading this, you are not experiencing any suffering or tragedy, I would say, “Rejoice, and enjoy it!” But know that hardship will come.

Here is the bottom line. You are either coming out of a storm or headed into another. “People are born for trouble as predictably as sparks fly upward from a fire” (Job 5:7 NLT). It’s just a matter of time. In this life, the only way to avoid suffering is to die. So, like the diligent squirrel gathering nuts for winter, store these truths in your heart.

If God Is Good, Why?,

“And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.”

Once when I was on a flight returning to California, the captain announced he would have to make an emergency landing. The flight attendants went through the protocol, and I listened carefully. As we went into our descent, we were told to lean forward, grab our legs, and get ready. Thankfully we landed safely, and everything was okay.

When your life depends on something, you listen. That is how we should be as we listen to God’s Word. In the parable of the sower, Jesus talked about seeds that fell on good ground: “honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest” (Luke 8:15).

These are what I call fruitful hearers. Having heard God’s Word, they keep it. One key is how we listen. It is not just hearing the Word of God; it is keeping it. It is no light thing to constantly hear the Scriptures preached and taught. Jesus said in Luke 12:48, “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”

It is a great thing to read through the Bible. It is a great thing to read chapters of the Bible. But I would rather read eight verses with comprehension than eight chapters without it. Psalm 1 talks about those who “delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night.” The word meditate means “to chew, to contemplate.”

Those who hear God’s Word are made more responsible than those who did not hear. God expects us to act on what we have heard. God expects us to obey His Word, not just hear it. Good ground is made that way by the work of the Gardener and by our cooperation.

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

—2 Chronicles 7:14

We want God to heal our land, and we want our nation to change. But as we look at the problems in our country, we want to point at someone else a lot of times. We say the problems are due to Washington, DC, or Hollywood or the White House. But God says the source of the problems is His house, the church.

God lays out His prescription in 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Notice God says, “If My people who are called by My name . . .” He doesn’t say a thing about secular culture. He talks to His own people. That is you. That is me. “If My people . . .”

I think one of the problems in our nation today is there are a lot of people running around who think they are Christians, but they really are not. In fact the Bible says, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Or, as the J. B. Phillips New Testament puts it, “You should be looking at yourselves to make sure that you are really Christ’s.”

Then there are those who are living a double life. They put on a good performance at church. They say all the right things. But they are living a life that is completely contradictory to what the Bible says about how a Christian ought to live.

I have heard all about you, LORD. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember your mercy.

—Habakkuk 3:2

I came to Christ in 1970 during the Jesus Movement, which gave me a front-row seat to the Fourth Great Awakening in the United States—the most recent in our nation. Looking back, I remember five things that were part of a typical church service during that time.

First, there was a sense of expectancy in the service. No one was ever late for church because you couldn’t find a seat if you were. You came expecting God to work. You came with a sense of openness, anticipating what the Lord was going to do.

Second, the Word of God was always taught. That gave stability to us. In fact, I still have my Bible from those days. I marked it up—so much so that some of the pages are coming out of it.

Third, people participated in the worship. We effectively saw what we simply know as worship now. In the late 1960s, there were no electric guitars, for the most part, on church stages. There were no drum kits. It was completely different culturally. Things we take for granted now didn’t exist back then. But people engaged in worship. They participated in it.

Fourth, believers brought nonbelievers to church, evangelistic invitations were extended, and people were coming to Christ. Every week there was the sense that God wants people to be saved.

Fifth, there was a belief in and a constant teaching of the imminent return of Christ. We believed that Jesus was coming back again.

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

—James 1:12

I heard about a pastor who was making a hospital visit and parked his car in a no-parking zone because he couldn’t find a parking space. He circled around multiple times, but finally he had to stop so he could go and see the person who had requested him. He decided to write a note and place it under his windshield wiper in case a police officer came along. The note said, “I have circled the block ten times. I have an appointment to keep.” Then, thinking of a Scripture verse, the pastor wrote, “Forgive us our trespasses.”

When he returned, he was surprised to find a ticket under the windshield wiper. At the bottom of the ticket, a note read, “I have circled this block for ten years. If I don’t give you a ticket, I’ll lose my job.” The note ended with a Scripture quotation as well: “Lead us not into temptation.”

Everyone gets tempted, including ministers. No one enjoys being tempted. In fact, we probably would prefer that temptation didn’t exist at all. But the Bible says there is actually a blessing in getting through temptation. James 1:12 says, “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

This verse tells us that temptation can be endured: “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.” There is no such thing as a temptation that is too hard to resist. God will allow only what you can handle (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).

“Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?”

—Psalm 85:6

What is the future of the United States of America? Are we doomed to just go the way that so many other once-great nations have gone? Is America headed to the ash heap of history? Are our greatest days behind us, or could they still yet be ahead? Is there any hope for America?

No one can answer those questions with any certainty, but we know this much: America is not the superpower of the last days. The greatest nation on earth is conspicuous in her absence from the world stage in the end-times scenario given to us in the Bible. America is not the first, nor will it be the last, nation to rise and fall. Every nation’s days are numbered; America is no exception.

Rome was once the mightiest empire on the face of the earth. But she collapsed internally before she was conquered externally. We as a country can be diligent to guard against enemies on the outside, but we would be wise to look within.

Historian Will Durant, in his book on Rome’s history, Caesar and Christ, said, “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within. The essential causes of Rome’s decline lay in her people, her morals. . ..”

The difference between Rome and the U.S. is that we were founded on Judeo-Christian values. We’ve strayed from the original vision of our founding fathers, the vision that produced “America.”

What was once “freedom of religion” has now become “freedom from religion.” We have succeeded in getting God out of our schools, sporting events, public venues, and workplaces. Instead of Christmas, when we should focus on Jesus, we have Happy Holidays and Winter Solstice. Instead of Good Friday and Easter, we have Spring Break. It seems to me that America has gone out her way of late to turn from God. But America needs God’s intervention.

We saw many turn to the Lord after 9/11. Remember those prayer vigils on street corners and packed churches? Remember the members of Congress spontaneously singing “God Bless America”? These memories give me hope that there could be at least one more great revival in America’s future.

If we do not have revival, I do believe that judgment is inevitable. Peter Marshall, former chaplain to the U.S. Senate once said, “The choice before us is plain: Christ or chaos, conviction or compromise, discipline or disintegration.”

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

—1 Peter 5:8

When does temptation generally come? Answer: Often after great times of blessing!

When Jesus began His public ministry, He went to be baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. The heavenly Father proudly said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Then temptation came. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted.

After the dove came the devil.

It usually works that way in our lives as well. After the blessing comes the trial. The two often go hand in hand. Don’t be surprised if temptation comes to you, for instance, right after God speaks to you in church or in a time of devotion.

Times of attack often come after mountaintop experiences. Jesus was on the mountaintop with Moses and Elijah. Once again God said, “This is my beloved Son; hear Him!” As they descended, a man with a demon-possessed child was waiting. Know this: whenever God speaks, the devil will be there to oppose. The enemy knows your guard may be down after God has spoken or blessed.

History tells us that when Hitler invaded the European nations during the early years of World War 2, in almost every situation, he attacked on a weekend. Hitler knew the various parliaments would not be in session, making it more difficult to react swiftly to an invasion.

The same happened to Israel on Yom Kipper 1973. On the Day of Atonement, a national holiday, the holiest day to the Jewish people, their enemies Egypt and Syria attacked.

In the same way, our enemy the devil waits for the opportune time to attack. He waits for that moment when we are the most vulnerable. It may be when we think we are the strongest.

We may have reached what we think are “great heights” in our spiritual life. We may feel that we would never fall to base temptation and sin. We may even boast of it to others.