Like so many others, my heart breaks at the pictures of devastation and the stories of people being stranded and lost during the storm in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. There were places in several other states as well that saw much destruction. People had been warned for awhile about the storm coming, but never had anyone imagined the massive amount of ruin. Many felt their home or college campus would be safe. The power of raging water, however, was greater than the strength of roads and bridges built by man.

I can not get away from thinking about all of the landslides that took out everything in its path. Some cities were completely covered or washed away. Images implanted in my mind of various places I had visited will never look the same again. It is all haunting, and I was not even there.

I cannot fathom the terror that many actually experienced as they watched things around them simply melt away. I cannot imagine the final thoughts of those swept away by raging water. Our minds with even our most vivid imagination could not have predicted the reality of what occurred.

So, yes, like many, my heart aches for those affected.

It also led me to think about other days to come. I am in no way wanting to belittle the devastation and the hurt people are experiencing now. Everything that has happened though, can be just a small glimpse into what is going to happen after the Church of the Living God is raptured from this earth. For those who have tried to avoid reading the Book of the Revelation, or for those who simply do not believe the Bible is true, go read just Chapter 16 of Revelation to get just a small vision of what is to come. These verses in particular struck me:

“Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since mankind came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. And every island fled, and no mountains were found. And huge hailstones, weighing about a talent each, came down from heaven upon people; and people blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because the hailstone plague was extremely severe.” Revelation 16:17-21

If you have read these verses before, it is hard to imagine the destruction that is going to take place during those years of tribulation. But now, we have images in our minds to make comparisons. “Cities split apart,” “islands fled,” meaning washed away or covered with water. “Mountains not found.” We have seen the mudslides and hills moved. The things we saw that we think is so horrible, and it surely is, is but a small thing compared to what will come.

People were warned about the storm but were still not prepared. We have been given a warning for thousands of years of the great and terrible day of the Lord. Many are still not prepared.

Dear friend, I pray that you have a personal relationship with the Lord. If you do, then you know and you have the assurance that one day, our Blessed Lord and King, is going to return and take us Home to be with Him for all eternity. We will escape the coming storm of destruction. However, sadly, for those who have not received the Lord as their Savior, when the Lord comes, they will be left behind to experience destruction far beyond what we have seen the past week.

May the images and stories of those precious folks that had to be rescued spur us into action. People need to be told to take the warning seriously. They need rescuing from the lies of the evil one who is telling them that God is not real, and that Jesus is not coming back. Jesus told us otherwise:

“And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many people. And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.’” Matthew 24:4-8

“‘Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you must be ready as well; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.’” Matthew 24:42-44

Time is running out. Are you prepared and ready to go?