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Years ago, I travelled to the USA and stayed in an apartment that had a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom and a living room with a guest toilet. In the middle of the night, I woke up to use the toilet and realised that my wife was not in the bedroom with me. I thought she had gone to use the guest toilet in the living room so as not to disturb my sleep. However, after waiting for a while and not seeing her, I went to check the living room and discovered that she was neither there nor in the guest toilet. I began to tremble, and I said, “God, where have I missed it? What is it that caused me to be left behind?” I thought the rapture had happened, and my wife had been taken, and I had been left behind. I was still trembling when the Holy Spirit said, “She didn't come with you on this trip.” It was then that I remembered I had come on the trip alone. That is how conscious I always am of the rapture. It is better to live ready than to be careless and be left behind when the Lord returns.
As I said two days ago, from the moment I learnt about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer every night before bed has always been, “Lord, if you return before tomorrow, please don't leave me behind.” I pray that when the Lord returns, you will not be left behind, in Jesus’ name. The realisation that tomorrow may never come and that the Lord may return before sunrise tomorrow has kept me on my toes all these years.
Nobody knows the hour the Lord will return. This is why you must live ready. You cannot afford to live carelessly because you do not know when your time on earth will elapse or when the Lord will return. Today’s Bible reading compares two servants. One was faithful and wise, and he lived ready, doing his master’s will until his return. The other was described as evil because he thought in his heart that his lord delayed his coming, and because of that, he began to act and live as he pleased. The Bible tells us that he was severely punished when his lord returned.
Beloved, don’t live carelessly because you think the Lord is delaying His return. He is coming soon. Blessed are those who live ready for His return.