This is a sign that you want to read before you reach the place where you thought the bridge was, before it became ‘out.’ If you can see the sign and detour accordingly, you will be okay. However, what happens when you see the sign, but you can’t detour; there’s no going back because this road we call ‘life’ only moves in one direction, forward. It’s the only road we can be on in this world.
Most folks are used to being on a road that is laced with hope and a brighter future; but when the road we’ve been traveling on for so long has become damaged, tainted, and left in disarray due to bad maintenance, proper management, and abuse, it would seem a bit disheartening to continue on it; yet this is the only road we can travel on in this life.
I have reviewed the video footage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, MD on March 29th, 2024 and I am coming to understand that there are thousands of bridges across America that are considered to be in ‘poor’ condition. The Key Bridge stood for 47 years, and in that time it never received the sort of jolt that anyone could have thought would bring it down. But when the Dali, a ship weighing more than 100,000 tons, smashed into it, the bridge fell in less than a minute. While such a catastrophic collapse might not have been entirely predictable; bridge collapses, as the result of collisions, aren’t entirely unheard of.
Recent federal safety inspections of the Key Bridge found it to be in ‘fair’ condition, and Maryland’s governor said the bridge was ‘fully up to code.’ It would seem that thousands of US bridges are in bad shape. In America, 46,000 bridges have aging structures and are in ‘poor’ condition, and 17,000 are at risk of collapse from a single hit, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers and the federal government. Extreme weather events, heavy trucks, and aging infrastructure pose significant risks to US bridges, so say engineers and other experts. Each state is responsible to inspect their bridges at least once every two years and classify them as ‘good, fair, or poor.’ A bridge found to be in ‘poor’ condition has some structural elements of the bridge in a state of advanced deterioration.
The reason I am quoting recent news articles and such has more to do with how many people are feeling about life, their future, and the future of their children and grandchildren in general. When a person with a strong sense of how things work in this world can see that our future is not sustainable, it becomes clear and a bit discouraging to hope in a future that is as hopeless as it is bridgeless.
But God…has ‘given us everything that we need for life and godliness,’ (2 Peter 1:3) that is if we are hidden in Christ. This world and its ways are quickly passing away, that’s no surprise. If we are in Christ, our mindset is as biblical as it is hope-filled, but not because of strong bridges and bright futures; rather, it’s because of what Jesus has done for us in giving us eternal life through the salvation He provided for us on the cross of Calvary.
Paul reminds us, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” – Colossians 3:1-3
Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” – John 10:7-10
- This abundant living can be experienced in this life, but a greater truth reveals that it will be made more manifest in the next, where all bridges and hopes are as secure as God’s promises to us.
Jeremiah said it this way, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:11-13
- God has promised us, as His children, a bright future and a hope-filled eternity in His kingdom, which extends way beyond this life and world.
The signs that we are seeing are there to reveal the coming seven-year tribulation, aka the Day of the Lord. As God’s children, we are NOT appointed to His wrath, (1 Thessalonians 5:9) but we will be delivered from this coming tribulation judgment before it occurs; and it’s about to occur. The signs that we are seeing in the world around us reveal this obvious truth if we are watching for them, and Him.
While some believers may become discouraged at this reality, I remind you that Jesus told us what the world would look like just before He returned for us. (Matthew 24) I want to encourage you my brother (and sister) to not focus on the crazy that is happening around you, but to focus on the Lord and His many promises to you in His Word. This will help us to be a better witness for the gospel to those who would be saved if they repent of their sin and believe on Jesus as we have.
The movie Back to the Future III puts the lead character Marty McFly in a time machine Delorian on a set of railroad tracks headed for a bridge that hasn’t been built yet. If you saw that movie, you know the scenario. We are on a road heading for a bridge that is out, and yet we are still traveling toward it. When we arrive, the bridge will still be out, and so will we, out of here, that is. If I didn’t believe in a pre-tribulation Rapture, I would be as concerned about our bridgeless future as many people are right now. I will do my part to make this world a better place as long as I am here; and sharing Jesus is a major part of that. I am not concerned about bridgeless ravines or hopeless futures, because I am in Christ and He’s has this and us, He always has.
A lot of people are watching May 18th as the final 40 days from the second solar eclipse. It also lands on Pentecost weekend. I am not saying we’re going to have a Rapture then, but I am saying that something big is getting ready to happen and we all need to be watching and praying that God would use us to steward both things and people as we approach the proverbial ‘outed’ bridge. We don’t fear what the world fears. We love God and we show His love to others in how we witness to them and occupy in our limited space and time. When our time is up and the work of the Lord on this side of the Rapture is finished, the Lord will call us home.
Jesus said it this way, “I (We) must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” – John 9:4,5
- This mandate is just as much for us living in these last day as it was for Jesus in His day. We have God’s light living inside of us if we belong to Jesus. That light needs to be shared with others.
Bridge or no bridge, no matter how dark things may seem, as long as we as the Church are here in this world, we can and must make a difference for the glory of the Lord. Jesus is coming very, very, very soon!
Maranatha!
Encouragemen is a blog written by Pastor Rob Lee, recently relocated to Northwest Missouri. He lives with his wife of 34 years, near their three adult children, their spouses, and children (their grandchildren). Pastor Rob is an Ordained Assemblies of God minister, a former Lead Pastor (25 years), police chaplain, and community advocate. He continues to serve, consult, and disciple men of God, including those who are in the ministry.
Encourage Men 