By David Brooks | Founder and CEO of Divine Timing Ministries
When the Foundations Burn: The Spiritual Suicide of Judging God by a Fallen World
🎧 AUDIO NARRATION BY DAVID
When tragedy strikes, do we judge God by the ruins of a fallen world, or trust in His unshakeable Kingdom?
Church family, growing up, I loved watching Billy Crystal. He was one of those incredibly funny, talented comedians who made us laugh through movies like City Slickers. He is undeniably gifted. But recently, after losing his Pacific Palisades home of 46 years to the California wildfires, and suffering the tragic death of his longtime friend Rob Reiner, this Hollywood icon looked into the camera and made a heartbreaking, yet spiritually dangerous confession: “I no longer trust God.”
My heart breaks for his grief. Loss is agonizing. But his conclusion exposes a fatal theological error sweeping through our culture. He is judging the Creator by the collapsing of the creation.
THE HOLLYWOOD MORAL COMPASS
Here is what Billy Crystal—and millions of people who look to Hollywood for moral guidance—do not understand. Capturing the hearts and minds of a global audience does not make someone a moral leader. History has proven the entertainment industry wrong upwards of 95% of the time!
They are not shy about using their massive platform to tell us their feelings about God, and we cannot be shy about giving it back to them, letting them know just how wrong they can be. Praying to God does not qualify someone as knowing God. Talking to the sky does not mean you are born again. There is a massive, eternal, unbridgeable chasm between religious activity and a transformed heart. Jesus said in John 17:3, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
WHO OWNS THE CURRENT KINGDOMS?
We must ask a hard, biblical question that the secular world completely ignores. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and said in Luke 4:6, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.”
Jesus did not deny that the enemy currently holds a degree of usurped, temporary influence over this fallen, broken system. The Apostle Paul calls him “the god of this age” in 2 Corinthians 4:4. The world expects a pain-free life in a realm that is actively under the influence of a usurper. When the fire comes, they blame the true King for the actions of the thief.
THE BORN AGAIN DIFFERENCE
Listen to the words of Job, who lost his wealth, his children, and his health in a single day. He declared in Job 1:21, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this, Job did not charge God with wrongdoing. Why? Because Job understood what we are forgetting. Hebrews 12:26 tells us, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.” This present world is designed to be shaken. But Hebrews 12:28 gives us the anchor: “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude.”
This all comes down to the Born Again experience. When the Holy Spirit lives inside of you, even when you are having a bad day, or when a tragedy strikes, you never run from God. You run to Him! That is the massive difference. The world runs from God when the foundations burn, but the child of God runs to the Strong Tower. As Romans 8:38 reminds us, neither death, nor life, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God.
🙏 THE ABCs OF SALVATION
Do not measure God’s faithfulness by your circumstances. Measure your circumstances by the unchanging faithfulness of God. If you are standing in the ashes today, do not turn away from the Light. Secure your eternity in the unshakeable Kingdom today!
- A — ADMIT You’re a Sinner (Romans 3:23)
- B — BELIEVE Jesus Died and Rose (Romans 5:8)
- C — CONFESS Him as Lord (Romans 10:9)
Pray this from your heart: “Lord Jesus, I admit I’m a sinner. I believe You died for me and rose again. I confess You as my Lord and Savior. I stop judging You by my circumstances, and I anchor my soul in Your unchanging love. Write my name in the Lamb’s Book of Life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
5-MINUTE ACTIVATION: ANCHOR YOUR SOUL
Take 5 minutes today to shift your focus from the shifting sand of this world to the unshakeable Rock of our salvation.
Step 1: READ Job 1:21 & John 16:33 (60 sec)
Read these verses aloud. Declare: “The Lord gives and takes away. I will bless His name. He has overcome the world.”
Step 2: PRAY for Unshakeable Trust (90 sec)
“Lord, forgive me for measuring Your goodness by my comfort. Help me to trust Your character even when I cannot trace Your hand. Anchor my soul in Your eternal Kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Step 3: ACT (60 sec)
Reach out to someone who is currently suffering. Do not offer clichés. Simply tell them, “I am praying for you, and God’s love for you is unshakeable,” and mean it.
⏱️ Total time: 5 minutes. 🔥 Result: Anchored. Trusting. Grounded.
Church family, the question isn’t whether you pray when things get hard. The question is: Do you know Him? Because when the foundations burn, only those who truly know the Rock will stand unshaken. Do not turn away from the Light. Turn to the cross.
Walk in the light of His unshakeable Kingdom. Grace and peace until the Morning Star appears, brothers and sisters.
