REVELATION 16:8-11
By Mike Kurtz
Read Revelation 16:8-11.
How do you respond to God when there is tragedy or difficulty in your life? One person can react to a tragic situation by turning to God in desperation; another can turn away from God with blame and anger. The latter seems to be the case for those who experience these final judgments in this chapter of Revelation. The worse the judgments become, the greater the anger and resentment.
Why do people react this way? Why do they refuse to change or repent of their ways? Simply put, some people (or should I say “most people”) are unwilling to change their ways no matter how bad things get. I can only figure it is stubborn pride or a greater desire to hold to the things that are ultimately unhealthy for them. I have heard of elderly gamblers who in the worst of health were unwilling to go to the hospital for treatment. Instead, they are carted out of the casino and taken to the emergency room simply because they would not pull themselves away from what they wanted most. Sometimes we are so afraid to loose the things we have or want that we will suffer terribly to keep them. In other ways, people can be like wolves protecting their food and become angry at God when they are threatened to loose what is so precious to them.
For the people who will suffer in the end times, for the beast whose kingdom will be plunged into darkness, there will be no turning to God no matter how bad it gets. The only turning to God (if we can really call it turning) will be in the form of curses.
How about you? Are there things in your life that if God threatened to take away you would turn away from Him in anger? Are there things you will not let go of no matter how miserable life gets? God’s greatest desire is for us to always turn to Him and bring glory to His name. But if we are holding too tightly to the things of this world, we might be just as guilty as the stubborn ones in this chapter!
