³While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.

The quest for world peace is ubiquitous. Any hints of it, though obscured by ever-increasing conflict, whether between nations or in politics or in the home, relentlessly sprout out like seedlings in hardened volcanic rock. The human yearnings scream out for peace and latch hold of the slimmest of hopes. In fact, as we see from today’s passage, the delusion of a peace within our reach can be a prelude to absolute destruction. Political and religious proclamations tug on the heartstrings, but any solution not rooted in God is destined to failure.

Ancient times were brutal, as are our present times. There were no agreed-upon ethical standards; morality was simply what you could get away with—all the result of the diversity of man-made religious systems that spawned many different deities. As Paul wrote elsewhere, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Rom. 1:21–22). Along with the rejection of God came the spiral into self-made human ways of living that were contrary to God’s standards.

But since we were created in God’s image and for His glory, all of life lacked the peace of God. And all efforts at peace and proclamations to have attained it are destined to fall flat. History verifies this as the narration of the human story filled with violence and war. Survival of the fittest often is the result of who can flex the strongest muscle.

Paul’s assertion in our passage today may be construed as pessimistic, a real downer. Should we not say, like those quoted in Isaiah, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die” (Is. 22:13)? Should we not settle for the little peace we can experience today, for tomorrow comes destruction? For the unsaved, that may be their thinking. But mostly it is the total ignorance that comes from lack of faith in God, or rather, rejection of God and His Word. Such blindness is in for the biggest surprise when Christ returns. They are not to be envied in the least.

For believers, though, we have heard and trust the Savior’s word: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27). This is the peace that passes understanding (Phil. 4:7). We have no fear; we won’t be surprised. Christ is returning.

Lord, as the song says, “I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God.”