Nuclear Threats

Dear Victorious,

There seem to be more and more hostile nations threatening the security of the world with nuclear arsenals. We read that there are sufficient nuclear weapons in existence today to actually destroy the world! How should Christians regard this threat?

Worried

Dear Worried,

Psalm 93:1 tells us that, "The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved." You can take that to the bank. Nobody is going to destroy the world until God is ready to have it destroyed. So from a Christian perspective, we should have confidence that God is still in control. We should take comfort in the fact that God is more powerful than all of earth's hostile nations combined.

There are numerous places in the Bible which tell Christians that we are not to be afraid of anything. We are to have no fear. If fear tries to overtake us - we are to turn it over to the Lord. His perfect love drives out fear. In other words, when someone is in intimate relationship with Christ, fear cannot survive ... much less intimidate, threaten or control.

The world is a frightening place to be. But it always has been. Today's threats are no more intimidating or frightening for us than the threats that people faced centuries ago. And God's Word is appropriate today ... just as it was back then.

It is interesting to read of threats of all types. But if we spend time dwelling on such things, we will lose our focus on Christ. Don't go there. Resist the temptation to get caught up in the hoopla of hand-wringing that our society engages in.

From a practical perspective, the Bible tells us that when God destroys the earth (again), He will do it by fire. It occurs to me that a mass arsenal of nuclear weapons could be playing right into God's hands. Perhaps they will be used to destroy the world --- by God Himself at the appointed time. But like I said, Christians should never fear God's will. He is in charge and no harm can come to us - regardless of what happens in the world.