The Lord Is Coming

The Lord is coming! Yes! That is true; it is The Lord. But because I am a son of God I wait for Him to conk from heaven. The very inward life of the believer is formed in connection with the coming of the Lord. The night was dark when these epistles were written, but, as in a dark night, there was a bright shining of the Star in heaven. However dark the night, and however many difficulties there are, we should be able to see that bright Star.
The Thessalonians were not fully instructed as to the coming. Their minds were not at ease about those taken to be with the Lord. But Paul does not write only because they were puzzled and perplexed, but brings out the mind of the Spirit quite simply.
The first epistle to the Thessalonians was probably the first of all the epistles to be written and when the Lord thinks of us, what are His first thoughts about us? Of the deep sands of the wilderness? No. He knows there is a certain responsiveness of heart in us to the thought of His coming, and His thought is that we are waiting for Himself from heaven.
If He let them come to their wit's end. it was that He might show them that He could meet all their need and, at the same lime, demonstrate His love. He always takes occasion from any difficulty to show forth Himself.
If I get near the Lord Jesus Christ I find there is in His heart a specialty of things and affections for a people down here, who are waiting for Him. They are not waiting for the glory; that is another thing. It is a craving in His heart that cannot be satisfied until He comes to take us home to Himself. And can I think of this and not want to see Him? Formed for Christ's own individual presence, the heart cannot be satisfied till it gets there.
Notice the place He recognizes them in, "in God the Father." 1 Thess. 1:1. This has no meaning to an unconverted mind. How can a people be in God the Father and in His Son Jesus Christ?
It is an immense help to remember that our Lord Jesus never forgets His coming—there is a fixedness of heart in Him to come and take the bride home to the Father's house, and I can have sympathy with Him in that.
The tomorrow of the believer is formed on the yesterday of the believer and is connected with His today. For where does a soul get peace but by going right inside the veil where Christ sits? You must see the connection between what Christ did on the cross with the throne of God in heaven if you are to have a hope "that maketh not ashamed.”
The anchor of your soul is settled in Christ within the veil, the accepted sacrifice. Many cleave to the Lord Jesus Christ where God hid His face from Him on the cross. That is the yesterday of faith—therein I have brought out the knowledge of my faith and of my acceptance before God.
Have you brought nothing else from the presence of God? Not the love He bears you? Was all the love of Christ spent in proving to you your access to God? Oh, no. I cannot have been intelligently in the presence of the Lord without knowing not only that I want Him, but that He wants me. G.V. Wigram
Editorial
Catastrophes seem to happen more frequently. Earthquakes, typhoons, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, explosions and vehicle crashes that take a heavy toll of life are almost daily in the headlines.
Over much of the United States last year the drought was considered a calamity while terrible floods were afflicting other parts of this globe. Why the imbalance? Is nature, as men say, "out of course"? Is there a cause? Zophar asked this question in Job 11:7, "Canst thou by searching find out God?" At the end of Job's book, he says to the Lord, "I know that Thou canst do everything, and that Thou canst be hindered in no thought of Thine." Job 42:2 (JND). Our God is in control of every event.
Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest of men in his day, came under the judgment of God or what men would call a catastrophe. He was demented for a period of time so that he could learn that God was in full control of all things. At the end his reason was restored and he blessed the Most High, and he "praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?" Dan. 4:34, 35.
The Lord Jesus cited two calamities in Luke 13 and also indicated why they had happened. Cruel Pilate had mingled human blood with the Galilean sacrifices and in another case eighteen people perished when the tower in Siloam fell on them. Clearly these two catastrophes happened to alert the living, for Jesus said, "Suppose ye that these... were sinners above all...? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
In the case of Elijah when he was discouraged, fearful and self-important, it was not the wind or earthquake or fire that reached his conscience, but it was the still small voice. The voice of the Lord heard through His Word is that for which we should listen and then perhaps drastic means would not be necessary to get our attention. Psa. 148 speaks of "fire, and hail; snow, and vapor; stormy wind fulfilling His word." For the Christian, we are comforted by Rom. 8:28. "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." This verse leaves none of the events out, but rather includes them, for God has a purpose in all. Ed.