10 Reasons You Should Not Fear
Reason #5 – God’s Promise Gives Us Peace
“By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,
being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”
II Peter 3:7, NIV
There is a lot of talk these days about the future of our planet. Don’t get me wrong, I believe we should take care of our planet. In the beginning God commanded us to cultivate, subdue and have dominion over the earth. I try to recycle, when I can. I’ve littered very few times in my life. I have a box next my desk at work where I discard paper for recycling, instead of placing it in the trash can. I most definitely could do more. I try to have a balanced perspective regarding my responsibility in being a good steward of the earth God gave us.
That said, though I believe we should definitely make efforts to clean up our world, our air, our water, etc. I also realize that this earth is NOT going to last forever. This earth, despite what others might think, is not our forever home. The Bible clearly reveals that our earth will be destroyed by fire and God will make a new heaven and a new earth. II Peter 3 says, “…the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up… Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (vs. 10, 13, NKJV)
For those of us who are in Christ, we do not have to fear the day of God’s wrath. Our security is in Christ. We do not have to live in fear regarding the future of our planet. God gave the whole human race a simple promise long ago, after He destroyed the earth with a flood. He said,
“As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night,
will never cease.”
(Genesis 8:22, NIV)
This tells me that no matter how bad things get on this earth; farmers will continue to harvest their crops, summer and winter will endure, and the sun will rise every morning. Dreadful times will come upon the earth. But when they do, we know the end of this earth is near, and the consummation of our blessed hope in Christ is very near.
Several years ago I had a dream. In my dream I was walking around my hometown in Michigan. There was a feeling in the air of coming tragedy. Everyone knew that a great earthquake was coming. People were fearful, running to and fro, battening down the hatches, preparing for this great earthquake. But I had such peace. I had no fear or dread, just perfect peace. As I walked into my house people were frantic, but there was a small child there and I looked down at him and began to tell him about Jesus. As I told him about Jesus he began to cry. Right there I led him to the Lord.
I believe that this is a picture of the body of Christ in the time in which we are living. While the world is in terror, we will have peace. And because of that peace people will be drawn to us and we will tell them about Jesus, the author of peace. Like a fireplace on a dark, cold night, people will be drawn to our light, a safe place in the storm.
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