When All Hell Breaks Loose, Heaven is Close at Hand!

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"Therefore we are unafraid, even if the earth gives way, even if the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea" (Psalm 46:2, Complete Jewish Bible).

The Psalmist portrays the whole world erupting into a state of great confusion; with the mountains being hurled into the depths of the sea, and the sea itself upturned into a raging tempest; and even the venerable "everlasting hills" are now described as drifting aimless upon the foaming billows. As they say down South, "All hell broke loose!"

But here is what the Bible wants us to know -- when all Hell breaks loose, Heaven is close at hand!

The Lord is never nearer than when we are vexed with grievous troubles. And while it may seem as though evil has triumphed, we are held by a calm and mysterious assurance -- God has everything under control.

"Though the cause of evil prosper, yet the truth alone is strong; Though her portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong; Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own." (James Russell Lowe)

And never lose sight of this -- it is God's hand that has stirred the raging waters. "Behold the works of the Lord," the Psalmist tells us, "what desolations He has wrought in the earth!" (vs.8).

Desolations? Yes, for by this word he means the ruin that falls upon the misspent lives of wicked men, and the astonishment it causes in the eyes of those who see it happen.

Indeed, despite the great and ceaseless boastings of those who rely in their own security and strength, it is God who in an instant can turn the entire show on its head. And in the deafening silence of the aftermath He speaks, "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen; I will be exalted in the earth" (vs.10).

Trusting the Lord in troubled times is the only way to make it. When all hell breaks loose, Heaven is close at hand for those who place their trust in the Lord.
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