This has been a great part of a number of verses in the Bible which show us that in the record of God's people many hard times have eventually ended. This fact gives us hope that God will also see us through struggles, disappointments, and other forms of what we might call "hard times".
 

All Bible-believing Christians see the relation of recent events around the world to Bible prophecy regarding the last days. One thing of spiritual significance is becoming more evident. Men's hearts are becoming harder, and he is ignoring God. One example of this is the recent lawsuit against the Governor of Arizona who went so far as to proclaim a "Day of Prayer" for Arizona and their budget problems. It is no surprise that those supporting Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit to prevent such a thing. An Arizona newspaper ran a poll to find out what the readers thought about the constitutionality of such a proclamation. Of course, no one was forced to pray. Nevertheless, 77.29% of the respondents said that such a proclamation was illegal. So much for any idea of being a irreligious nation let alone a Christian nation.
 

Christians are thankful for every person who turns to Christ even during difficult times of great loss, and for every believer who is proclaiming God's Word and encouraging other to believe as well. However, we also are seeing that not only politicians, but even church leaders and leaders of other religions are becoming more vocal in their response to anyone who mentions that God is displeased with mankind's ways and especially of the idea of any "divine punishment" in natural disasters. When the Governor of Tokyo said that what Japan has experienced might be "divine punishment" for the egos and materialism of their people, he was denounced by the leaders of the various religions in Japan. Any Christian minister who mentions recent events around the world as God's judgment is labeled as judgmentally, intolerant, bigoted, and even as unchristian. They are told that God is a God of  love, peace, tolerance, and provides mankind with happiness and prosperity - not a God of anger and judgment.
 

Liberal ministers are partaking with people of the various religions of Japan to hold "healing services" where the people of all religions pray, burn incense, and ring bells for those who died in the recent tragedy in Japan. The unity of mankind and religion is being strongly promoted and those who do not take part are considered as being divisive. This must be the reason some "Christian" non-Roman Catholic churches held St. Patrick's Day festivals of fun and games. The popular concept is that we are all some god's children who just need to get along by loving and  accepting everyone, any belief, form of worship, or action.
 

One very sad note that should prompt us to be more dedicated to fulfilling the Great Commission is that missionaries in Japan say that less than one per cent of the people in Japan are Christians. This does not mean that they are Bible-believing, born again Christians. While no one knows for sure, when we apply this figure to the assumed 10,000 dead, the number who died and were saved is nothing near the number who died unsaved. We see the seriousness of not doing what Christians have been commanded to do - make disciples in the utmost parts of the world. We cannot make anyone believe, but we must give them the opportunity to do so by presenting the truth to them.
 

While we cannot be surprised at the response of those who do not know or believe that Bible and who do not take God seriously, we plainly see men's hearts hardened and God ignored. We pray that this will be a time when many turn to Christ.  But it can also be a time when more people embrace globalism and the unity of faiths. Some might say that Jesus was teaching globalism when He sent His disciples into all the world. However, their mission was only to preach the gospel and make disciples. They were not told to learn from and practice the rituals of other religions in the world.