If you have ever found it difficult to spend quality time in praying for the salvation of loved ones, then may I submit to you that there is a word which may just be able to provide you with the motivation you are searching for. And that word is hell!
Most Christians believe in the reality of hell but you would never know it by their prayer life. Just what is hell? The Bible calls it a place of “…eternal destruction.” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). It is also called “the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15). And Luke 16 refers to hell as a place of “torment” and “agony.”
Hell is also the place where all of our loved ones, family, and friends are going to spend eternity if they haven’t been born again by inviting Jesus Christ into their lives as Lord and Savior.
We begin to get glimpses of the true picture of hell as we read the Scriptures. (Jude 7) tells us: “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”
(Revelation 20:10) gives us an even more vivid picture. It describes, for those destined for hell, who they will be spending their eternal lives with, and what they can expect a typical day in hell to be like. For we read: “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
One additional aspect of hell that is most horrifying is that not only will you “pay the penalty of eternal destruction” but you will be: “…away from the presence of the Lord…” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
I believe the most incredible example of what it is like to be away from the presence of the Lord can be found in the book of Job. When we read (Job 1) we see that Satan came right up to God and told Him point blank that the reason Job served Him was because: “Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” (Job 1:10).
As we read the book of Job we see that Job loved God for who He is and not for what He had given him. But there is a truth to having a hedge built around us. God in His mercy has allowed both the saved and the unsaved to be surrounded by a hedge. God allows the earth to be just the right distance from the sun, so we can survive the extreme heat and cold we would otherwise experience if we were just a little closer or farther away. God gives us the rains we need to grow our crops. He gives us clothing and shelter. And He even protects us from the complete assault of the devil, even when we don’t completely obey His commands.
In tomorrow’s Part II of this devotion, we will see just what it is like when God completely takes away the hedge from Job.