All we have to do is take a look at history, scripture, and the times, and see that where this world is headed is not going to be pretty. Eventually though, I have hope that the cycle will swing back. It is definitely very dark right now and Doomsday is coming. It would be naive to say otherwise. And in this darkness, things seem to keep ramping up. What do you expect when a culture and a society do not live in a Godly manner? But we are also promised something; when we turn to God and live by His commandments He will withhold chastisement. Like any son/daughter, we must live with the consequences of our decisions. Discipline is not to hurt us but to bring us back again. If we are living righteously, what have we to fear? Hope tells us that God will remain with us and bless us if we stay close to Him.
Am I saying that everything will be puppy dog tails and unicorns? No. There is a reason for everything. Even when it is darkest, the light shines out even more brightly. People do turn back to the Lord and repent. Why because a deep thirst and hunger is satisfied when we find the Lord and we see our emptiness and that only God can fill it. So far, the messages we are receiving from the Lord are to turn to Him and be strong and courageous; to stay faithful and to sin no more. Otherwise chastisement will follow. This is no different than predictions that Jesus gives in scripture. It is no different than what history tells us. When we forget history, then history repeats itself.
We have plenty of bonds in this culture. And one of the greatest is blindness and naivety. It’s like we think that we can keep sinning habitually and God won’t see it. That it doesn’t affect others but it does. It will come back to bite us eventually. Psalm 50 says, Offer to God a sacrifice of Thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High; and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. But to the wicked God says, “What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. If you see a thief, you are a friend of his; and you keep company with adulterers. You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you. Mark this then you who forget God, lest I tear, and there be none to deliver! He who brings Thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors me; to him who orders his way aright I will show the salvation of God!”
So, we see right away a solution to Doomsday and depression. Thanksgiving. Repentance. Discipline in living out our life. We must cry out to the Lord and He will hear us when we show Him we mean what we say. God will turn to us when we turn to Him and He never leaves us even when we are unfaithful. This passage is asking us to look deeper. God is a merciful God but also just. How can he turn a blind eye to the wicked? We must also remember that if we have failed, God will accept us back if we turn to Him and implore. The only unforgivable sin is the sin that we hold in unforgiveness. Our life will bloom and blossom when we keep coming to Him and using our superpower of faith. Then, even when we suffer, it will be lighter because we are yolked with Christ. DO NOT BE AFRAID. Remember God’s promise to Abraham concerning the city of Sodom and Gomorrah? “If there is 10 righteous people…If there is nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one will you spare the city?” And God says, “For the sake of the (insert number) I will save it.” And who was righteous? Lot and his family. How did God save them? The angels of the Lord took them out of the city before destroying it. He was faithful. It was only the lack of trust that had consequences. Lot’s wife turned to a pillar of salt.
If we are right with God, we have nothing to fear. It is enough to try and keep our own sanctity because we will have our own personal apocalypse when we die. Yes it is good to be aware of things but we can’t get too caught up. Do what we can in our own circle of influence. God will sustain us. The only thing to fear is fear itself and the consequence of not living in grace. Take a peak at what Father Mark Goring says in the following video and be at peace!