First, some uplifting shots of bluebirds, their babies, and reminders that creation, fallen though it is due to man’s sin, still reflects the goodness of God.

Perhaps an illustration would be helpful. I have a friend that I don’t get to see very often due to my military duties away, but she and I text back and forth regularly. Recently we discussed what we all are experiencing: soaring prices. When I walked into the commissary (grocery store) on post this week, the shelves looked like shelves I have seen in the Middle East or in southwest Asia or in parts of Africa I’ve been in. They were often bare. I had to go to two stores before I could even find a jar of peanut butter. And because I usually eat a couple of boiled eggs at breakfast, I thought I’d pick up some more organic eggs. The price of eggs floored me. I almost dropped them on the floor when I saw the price tag. Then there was more to come. I needed gas in my car. Overnight, the price of a gallon of 87-octane gas had risen 11 cents. We are approaching $5 a gallon here. And GA has among the lowest in the nation currently. In states run by liberals, gas is beween $6 to $8 a gallon. Folks, let me state the obvious: this is painful and there will be reactions from Americans.

My friend and I texted back and forth and what developed was a clear text thread of lamentation. We were and are both saddened by what is being done to our nation. I am a soldier, and thus cannot comment on political matters. My friend, however, is a civilian, and she wrote what we both feel. It’s a sadness over the state of things. It seems a national suicide is occurring. I have heard more than a few people prognosticate that we are on the verge of a serious recession, and possibly a depression.

But because of my nature, my training, and my disposition, what I am seeing is what Scripture calls “the fruit of their way.” What does that mean? Simple: we reap what we sow. Some folks call it the law of the harvest. Scripture puts it this way in Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” Solomon expressed wisdom regarding the same principle in a poetic form when he wrote, “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices” (Proverbs 1:30-31).

In plain language, we are getting what we asked for. But like my wife and I discuss all the time, most folks refuse to see evil and folly until they show up on their doorstep. People might say there’s no price to be paid for not prosecuting crime, or enabling indolence, or rewarding vice, and delight in virtue signaling to the mobs. But when the thugs show up on your doorstep, suddenly you become less abstract in your thinking and your heartrate increases. Why? Because you can pretend that bad ideas don’t have bad consequences, but reality has a way of clarifying your thinking. As another buddy of mine says, “The bad man’s gonna show up. And when he does, you’re gonna want the good guy there. So, plan accordingly.”

But in this period where I believe many people are on the existential gut level, they’re battling the blues. They feel like the world has gone upside down, like folly is in charge, like reason has been abdicated, like a spirit of intellectual stupor has descended upon the land like a fog. And when clear-thinking people try to say something, they get canceled and shouted down by the mobs. Folks, that is dangerous. But I fear that we are well beyond even that now.

I am sensing a time of spiritual coldness. I know that may sound ethereal to people who do not speak or think in theological categories. If you’re an atheist, for example, I’m simply saying that people are growing more callous towards one another. Not everyone, of course. I’m aware of my logic. But generally speaking, I’m sensing a growing impetuousness, a growing coldness, a dangerous severity in the air. And so many soldiers and civilians I’m with are enduring it: the blues. A wearing down of the person’s spirit. And so often, a heavy sadness accompanies it. Again, it is what God calls the fruit of our way. God calls, people suppress that call, and the results follow.

Lastly, some thoughts on the near future.

First, some dark days are here and will continue. We do not seem to learn many lessons from history–whether those lessons are about Marxism, biology, or justice. If you think Marixism is going to lead you into a progressive utopia, you are a special kind of stupid. You need to read an actual book of true history and move out of your mom’s basement.

Second, judgment is real. For my atheistic readers, you will deny that God is teaching lessons because you don’t think God exists, so these are just random collisions of molecules and a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing, as the Bard wrote. Okay. But for most of us, we admit that God exists because our consciences bear witness to him, creation bears witness to him, Scripture bears witness to him, and Jesus rose bodily from the dead. You can deny those things if you wish, but they abide nonetheless.

Third, a great revealing is taking place. We are seeing who folks really trust–themselves, big government, or the Lord.

Fourth, the courageous and the cowards are being revealed.

Most folks, it is clear, follow. They don’t want truth. They want comfort, to be taken care of, to not have to work hard or do much. But pressure is about to be applied, I believe, and we will continue to see a great sifting and sorting and revealing take place.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think so. It is cliche but true: some folks know a few things because they’ve seen a few things.

I think folks are on the cusp of learning some lessons our culture has suppressed for a long time. Reality is a rather stubborn thing, however, and we’re about to reap the whirlwind. Again, I say, it’s what Solomon called the fruit of their way.