Is the glass half full or half empty? We all know this old adage. But to survive the days ahead, this will have to become wisdom we apply, not merely a “saying.”
Now, more than ever, it is essential that we prosper and be in good health in body, soul, and spirit (3 John 2). The greatest prevention for surviving a plague is to be physically healthy before it starts. To withstand depression and defeat, be filled with peace, joy, and gratitude. To avoid being swept into deceit, have a heart filled with righteousness and faith.
Studies reveal that if two athletes of equal skill compete, the winner will be the one who has a winning attitude. We must be optimistic and joyful to sustain our immune function at the most optimal level. People who laugh tend to get well quicker and, in many cases, get sick less. By the same token, those who love righteousness are seldom deceived, and if they should get off track, they usually recover quickly.
As people who believe God’s Word, we know what’s coming. We are watching biblical prophecies leading up to the end time unfold before our very eyes. Every day the world grows darker and darker, as the wicked promote evil and call it good, and oppressing righteousness.
The prophet Isaiah described these times as a time when:
You may ask, “How is it possible not to get discouraged when facing such an onslaught of worldwide corruption?” This is where we must be realistic about what’s happening, but we must fix our eyes on the promises of God.
Unfortunately, some teach the promises of God as a spiritual form of positive thinking. While it is positive, it’s far more than an attempt to simply think positive. Promises were given through the New Covenant, and they are the tools and resources Jesus purchased with His blood. The promises comprise the truth of the finished work upon which we rely in times of difficulty. There would be no promises if there were no challenges.
For those merely seeking to be positive, the promises are abandoned when difficulties persist. For those who see the promises as tools for victory, the more problems grow, the more we depend on the promises.
Strong’s Concordance defines corruption as “decay and ruin.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines it as “a bringing or being brought into an inferior or worse condition.” The world’s system can be defined as the system that is currently seeking to seduce us into trusting for solutions to these monumental problems. However, the world’s system is under the control of the Great Harlot, Mystery Babylon, and it is the very system that is creating the problem.
This is where we must understand the mystery of Kingdom living. Kingdom living, for now, is when we can internally experience the benefits of heaven even when the world around us is crumbling. In Luke 14:28, Jesus gives us one of the most important keys to always winning, “count the cost.” The problem for many is this, counting the cost requires a true evaluation of the problem, so we must first be willing to look at and assess the situation.
To assess the problem, we must be willing to pull our heads out of the sand and face ugly realities. If we do not know the potential cost of an oncoming problem, we cannot prepare. When we must pay the price for standing, we will be taken by surprise. For many, this shock is more than they can bear.
There is an incredibly self-destructive mental syndrome called the normalcy bias. It is a syndrome where people refuse to believe that horrible things are actually happening. Hundreds of thousands of Jews stayed in Germany after Hitler came to power because they just couldn’t believe he would actually fulfill his threats to annihilate them. When a threat is greater than any hope we have of surviving, people minimize, understate or discredit the legitimacy of the threat.
Without the promise of God, there is no way to assess the enormity of the threat we face. With our unshakeable confidence in the promises, i.e., declarations God has made about our provisions in the New Covenant, it will be possible to look at, admit what is happening, assess it, count the cost, and factor in the solution!
This is where biblical faith comes into play. Remember, biblical faith is not what we have been taught for the last 60 years. Most of what we have been taught about faith is a ritualistic attempt to convince God to act on our behalf. Faith, however, is not what we do to get God to respond to us. Faith is when we respond to Him with complete trust!
Faith is not the belief in what God might do in the future. Faith is our immovable trust and confidence in what God has already accomplished through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and made sure through the covenant.
When we count the cost, we must have an answer, i.e., a solution we trust more than we fear the problem. This is why we can always see the glass half-full!
- We are looking at what God says will be the worst tribulation since the world has begun. The glass is half empty!
- We have the promise of the rapture. The glass is half full!
- The great harlot is seducing the entire world. The glass is half empty!
- Greater is He that’s in me than he that’s in the world. The glass is half full!
- The world’s economic system is going to collapse. The glass is half empty!
- This will break the seductive power of the world’s system. The glass is half full!
- The antichrist will be revealed! The glass is half empty!
- The inhabitants of the world will finally see their need for the Messiah! The glass is half full!
- God’s wrath will soon be poured out. The glass is half empty!
- In Christ, we are delivered from the wrath of God. The glass is half full!
- The antichrist will set up his kingdom! The glass is half empty!
- Jesus will destroy his kingdom and will rule in righteousness for 1000 years. The glass is half full!
- The world will come to an end. The glass is half empty!
- A New World will be established. The glass is completely full!
Those who love His appearing will grieve for the destruction that comes on the world, but they will simultaneously rejoice.
I know this is a long letter, but I believe these truths I’ve shared with you are essential. Let me close with this prescription.
- Learn, memorize, and establish your heart in as many of the promises of God as possible.
- Anything you find in the Scripture or in current events that frighten you, find a promise to neutralize the fear.
– Never let fear grow in your heart by thinking or obsessing about it.
- Find conversational ways to encourage and equip the people you love, to live as overcomers.
- Continue to help us take the Gospel of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth.
– The gospel of the Kingdom actually prepares the inhabitants of the earth to do two things:
We are taking bold steps toward expanding our worldwide outreach. Operation One Billion is exploding in growth. We are expanding into more nations, more languages, and more lives. All you can do to invest in this ministry, whether in prayer, participation, or financial support, will be an investment in the expansion of the Kingdom of God, and together…
Blessings,
Jim