A family visiting Yellowstone National Park learned a valuable lesson: bears are smart. While driving in the park, they spotted a black bear on the side of the road and decided to take a few pictures from inside their car. Something they didn't think about? Locking their car doors.
The bear approached the vehicle and “managed to grab ahold of the door handle.” Amidst the screaming of the kids in the backseat, the father managed to shut the door, “but not without effort” (Ashton Edwards, “Black bear opens terrified family’s car door, family escapes unharmed,” Fox 13, Salt Lake City, 6-17-16; www.PreachingToday.com).
Thankfully, no one was hurt—but stories like these remind us how quickly threats can arise. So what do you do when someone or something threatens you? What do you do when you receive a scary diagnosis, a hit to your finances, or a threatening letter. What do you do when even the news threatens your sense of well-being?
Every year for the last ten years, Chapman University completes a survey of American fears. Last year (2025), the top 5 fears included:
• Corrupt Government Officials—69.1%,
• People I Love Becoming Seriously Ill—58.9%,
• Economic or Financial Collapse—58.2%,
• Cyberterrorism—55.9%,
• People I Love Dying—53.3%, and tied for 5th place,
• U.S. Becoming Involved in another World War—53.3%
What threatens you these days, and how can you best handle those threats? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Ezekiel 38, Ezekiel 38, where God describes a future threat to the nation of Israel, which gives us perspective on handling the threats each of us face today.
Ezekiel 38:1-3 The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal (ESV).
God declares that He is against Gog of Magog, the ruler of Meshech and Tubal.
Now, who is this Gog, and what is the land of Magog? Well, Ezekiel 39:2 says, in relation to Israel, he is “from the uttermost parts of the north,” which today is Russia, whose capital is directly north of Jerusalem. The ancient Jewish historian Josephus identified “Magog” as the land north of the Black and Caspian Seas, from which the Scythians descended. Again, this is Russia today. So, God declares He is against the ruler of Russia, which He will snag and drag to the south. God says to the ruler of Russia…
Ezekiel 38:4-6 And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes—many peoples are with you (ESV).
God will drag Russia’s army and her allies south to Israel. Those allies include Persia, current day Iran, Cush, which today is Sudan and Ethiopia, Put, which is Libya today, and Gomer and Beth Togarmah, which comprise current day Turkey. All these nations surrounding Israel will unite with Russia to attack Israel.
Ezekiel 38:7-9 Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them. You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you (ESV).
In the latter years, after God restores Israel to her land, He will bring Russia and her allies down like a storm on His ancient people, the Jews. Talk about a threat. This threat is huge and imminent for Israel.
The stage is set for God to fulfill this 2500-year-old prophecy. Russia and Iran have long been partners opposing the West. In fact, just last year (2025), they signed a 20-year treaty formalizing deeper ties, focusing on countering what they call “unilateral coercive measures” (i.e., sanctions) and boosting defense and economic links. Russia is Sudan's primary arms provider, and a 2020 agreement allows for a Russian naval logistics base at Port Sudan for 25 years, giving Moscow Red Sea access. New agreements between Russia and Ethiopia facilitate military training, technical modernization, joint operations, and arms deals, with Russia providing military support to Ethiopia. Libya serves as a key base for Russia to project power into Africa. And even though Turkey is still a member of NATO, Turkey relies on Russia as a major gas supplier and builder of Turkey's Akkuyu nuclear plant. On top of all that, Iran and Ethiopia recently joined Russia and 8 other nations in a loose bloc of non-Western economies called BRICS. They seek to coordinate economic and diplomatic efforts around the shared goal of countering US and European dominance in the world (Google AI, accessed 1/21/26).
Keep your eye on the news. Nations are aligning just as God said they would 2,500 years ago! The stage is set for the end time events as described in the Bible!
So, the threat against Israel is real and imminent, but God wants Israel to know this is His doing. God is the one putting the hooks in these nations to bring them down against Israel. God is the one orchestrating world powers to accomplish His own purposes.
Seven times in this chapter God says, “I will” do this or that (vs.4, 16, 21-23) while Gog says, “I will” only twice in verse 11. Russia’s ruler will think invading Israel is his idea when all along God is the one who put that idea in his head.
It’s like Proverbs 21 says, “The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he guides it wherever he pleases” (Proverbs 21:1).
God is absolutely sovereign even over the enemies of His people, directing them according to His will. So, dear friend, take heart! When someone or something threatens you…
REALIZE THAT GOD IS IN CHARGE.
Understand and believe that God controls not only world events, but the events of your life, as well. Recognize that God “works all things according to the counsel of HIS will” (Ephesians 1:11) and rest in that realization.
The movie Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, based on J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy trilogy, shows the quest of nine travelers to destroy a ring critical to the power of the Dark Lord.
Frodo, a brave but vulnerable hobbit, has inherited the deadly ring from his cousin, Bilbo. When his wise counselor, the wizard Gandalf, discovers the Dark Lord is looking for this ring and now knows its whereabouts, he warns Frodo to leave his homeland and take the ring with him.
In time, a fellowship of eight others joins him, and they begin a dangerous trek through the mines of Moria. When the fellowship comes to an opening with three passages, Gandalf, obviously perplexed, admits he has “no memory of this place.” The fellowship breaks to rest while Gandalf ponders on what passage will lead them out.
Meanwhile, Frodo reflects on the dangers he's passed through and will yet face. Take a look (show Fellowship of the Ring video clip).
Tense with anxiety, he says to Gandalf, "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."
"So do all who live to see such times,” responds the wizard gently. “But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. There are other forces at work in this world besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought” (Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, New Line Cinema, 2001; www.PreachingToday.com).
The thought that God is at work behind the scenes IS an encouraging thought. Let that thought encourage you today no matter what threat you face. When someone or something threatens you,
1st, realize that God is in charge. Then 2nd, let that thought…
REDUCE THE THREAT IN YOIUR MIND.
Let it minimize your fear. Let it decrease your anxiety and bring you peace.
Ezekiel 38:10-12 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth (ESV).
The ruler of Russia says, “I will attack Israel, whose people are prosperous and at peace after many years of captivity and exile.”
Ezekiel 38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?’ (ESV)
Sheba (modern day Yemen) and her trading partners will question Russia’s intentions, wanting to form a lucrative alliance with Russia.
Ezekiel 38:14-16 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it? You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes (ESV).
Russia’s ruler, Gog, will think invading Israel is his idea when it will be God who puts that idea in his head. God will do it to vindicate His holiness, that is, to set Himself apart from all the other powers in the world. You see, Russia is no match for the Almighty God, who stands ready to defend Israel against all her enemies.
The holy God also stands ready to defend you against all your enemies, big or small. Romans 8 declares, “If God is for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31). The answer is “no one.”
I remember Pastor John Ortberg’s story about he and two friends walking in Newport Beach in Southern California. One was on staff with John at his church and the other was an elder at the same church. They walked past a bar where a fight had been going on inside. The fight had spilled out into the street, just like in an old western. Several guys were beating up on another guy, and he was bleeding from the forehead. Ortberg and his friends knew they had to do something, so they went over to break up the fight… Ortberg says, “I don't think we were very intimidating. [All we did was walk over and say,] ‘Hey, you guys, cut that out!’ It didn't do much good.”
Then, all of a sudden, the attackers looked at Ortberg and his friends with fear in their eyes. The guys who had been beating up on the one guy stopped and started to slink away. Ortberg didn't know why until he and his friends turned and looked behind them. Out of the bar had come the biggest man they had ever seen. He was something like six feet, seven inches, maybe 300 pounds, maybe 2 percent body fat. Just huge. They called him "Bubba" (not to his face, but afterwards, when they talked about him).
Bubba didn't say a word. He just stood there and flexed, hoping the troublemakers would try and have a go at him. All of a sudden, Ortberg says, “My attitude was transformed, and I said to those guys, ‘You better not let us catch you coming around here again!’
He was a different person because he had great, big Bubba right behind him. Ortberg says, “I was ready to confront with resolve and firmness. I was released from anxiety and fear. I was filled with boldness and confidence. I was ready to help somebody that needed helping. I was ready to serve where serving was required. Why? Because I had a great, big Bubba. I was convinced that I was not alone. I was safe.” (John Ortberg, in his sermon Big God/Little God, www.PreachingToday.com)
Dear believing friend, you have Someone better than a great, big, 300-pound Bubba standing behind you. You have the Almighty God of the universe! So don’t be intimidated by those who threaten you any longer. Instead, let God’s presence release you from anxiety and fear. 1st, realize that God is in charge. Then let that realization reduce the threat in your mind as you…
RELY ON GOD TO ELIMINATE THAT THREAT.
Trust the Lord to defend and protect you. Depend on the Almighty to save you from all your fears. That’s what God will do for Israel when Russia threatens them.
Ezekiel 38:17-20 “Thus says the Lord GOD: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, my wrath will be roused in my anger. For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground (ESV).
I wonder if this is the same earthquake Revelation 6 says will happen during the 7-year tribulation yet to come.
There, the Apostle John says, “I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood. Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind. The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places. Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?’” (Revelation 6:12-17).
This great earthquake will confuse Israel’s invading armies, and they will begin to fight each other. For God says in verse 21…
Ezekiel 38:21-23 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD (ESV).
Again, God acts to demonstrate His glory around the world. As He defends Israel by destroying her enemies, everyone will know that He, and He alone, is YHWH, that He is the faithful, covenant keeping LORD, who keeps His promises to His people.
Every year, when they made their pilgrimages to Jerusalem, the Jewish people sang about God’s promise of protection. One of those songs is recorded in Psalm 121, which says, “I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep” (Psalm 121:1-4, CSB).
The Jewish people counted on God’s promise of protection, and so can you if you are trusting Christ with your life. Jesus prayed for His followers, asking God not to “take them out of the world,” but to “keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15).
The Apostle John declares, “We know that those who are God’s children do not continue to sin. [Rather], the Son of God keeps them safe, and the Evil One cannot touch them” (1 John 5:18, New Century Version).
If you are a child of God through faith in Christ, He keeps you safe from your biggest enemy, Satan himself. So, when you feel threatened, trust Christ to eliminate the threat and keep you safe.
On February 27, 2012, 17-year-old T. J. Lane from Chardon, Ohio, burst into his school's cafeteria and started gunning down classmates. Lane shot and killed three students, but if it wasn't for the courage of Coach Frank Hall, many more students could have died that day.
The funny thing is that Hall doesn't consider himself to be a courageous hero. The 6'1", 350-pound football coach admits that he has plenty of fears. He hates confrontations; he's afraid of heights, roller coasters, and scary movies; and he jumps through the ceiling when his kids sneak up on him. On one level, Coach Hall is more of a teddy bear than a fighter. Hall summarizes his coaching code in two sentences: “Every kid is someone's pride and joy, or wants to be someone's pride and joy…. I keep thinking, How would I want my kid to be treated?—and then I treat them that way.”
But Frank Hall believes that there's one word that defines his life calling—protector. So as the shots rang out on that February morning in the Chardon High School cafeteria Frank Hall knew what he had to do. Hall, a follower of Christ who felt the hand of God through the ordeal, responded with courage in the face of danger. As students cringed under desks, Hall charged at the gunman, his voice booming, "Stop! Stop!" T. J. Lane, the 17-year-old shooter, was thrown off-guard by Hall's charge. Lane shot and missed as Hall dove behind a soda machine.
When Jen Sprinzl, a 51-year-old secretary, rushed out of the office to follow the bangs, Lane pointed his gun in her face. Hall had four adopted sons at home—two African-American, two bi-racial—that he didn't want to leave fatherless, but once again he rose up and bellowed, "NO!" Then he charged at Lane, who wheeled and started running. Police finally found Lane on a wooded road, shivering and wearing a t-shirt with the word KILLER on it. When they asked him why he'd run away, he said, "Because Coach Hall was chasing me."
In a later interview, Hall said, "I know, it sounds crazy, but in all honesty, I really didn't think about anything… I just reacted… As a society, we cannot lose our outrage when these kinds of tragedies happen. We can't just get to the point where we accept these kinds of things as just part of our lives, now. We have to make sure we, as a people, don't accept it… we can't!" (Gary Smith, "A Coach's Courage," Sports Illustrated, 6-24-13; www.PreachingToday.com).
Well, God does not accept any attacks against His people. Rather, He rises up in rage to protect them from all their enemies. Trust Him to do it for you. When someone or something threatens you, realize that God is in charge. Then let that realization reduce the threat in your mind as you rely on God to eliminate that threat altogether.
J. R. R. Tolkien once wrote in a letter: “No man can estimate what is really happening at the present. All we do know, and that to a large extent by direct experience, is that evil labors with vast power and perpetual success in vain: preparing always only the soil for unexpected good to sprout in” (Chris Armstrong, “9/11, History, and the True Story,” Christian History Connection, 9-14-02; www.PreachingToday.com).
When it seems like evil has the upper hand, trust God to use it to accomplish His good purposes in your life.
