I’m hopeful you’re still here. I know the title is a bit abrupt. But hear me. How many people do you know who are living in their own version of hell, here on earth?
By no means am I implying that the circumstances of this life in any way compare to the severity of God’s judgment against all unrighteousness. Yet, we know that most people live every day in a type of hell of their own making. Listen to this reflective petition of David:
1To You, O Lord, I call; My rock, do not be deaf to me, for if You are silent to me, I will become like those who go down to the pit.
2Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
Psalm 28:1–2 (NASB95)
David’s prayer was for the presence of God. Do not be deaf to me. Your silence will make me like those who go into the pit. David longed for and was dependent on the relationship he enjoyed with God. He pleads for mercy, “Do not drag me away with the wicked” (Ps 28:3). David reminds that separation from God is a foretaste of hell on earth. His observation reminds me of God’s instructions to His people through the prophet Isaiah who would follow many years later.
1Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.
2But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Isaiah 59:1–2 (NASB95)
You and I, as people created by God and in His image (the Imago Dei), are hardwired for communion with Him, for our benefit and His glory. David rehearses the reality that for the wicked…that relationship is broken. It is a foretaste of hell.
No, contrary to the warped view that we sometimes adopt, Hell is not only for “really bad” people (See 28:3-5). Unless you realize, of course, that we are ALL really bad. (Romans 3:23, 6:23). Hell is the place where there is knowledge of the existence of God yet no means by which it can be enjoyed. It is eternally crying for relief, knowing it would be possible for God, and knowing that it was rejected time and again in our lives, thus sealing our fate.
We all deserve Hell for our rebellion; yet Jesus came to give us a second chance; Jesus did not come just to commute our sentence of eternal judgment, but to restore us to the place of communion with God…what He calls abundant life (John 10:10b). And, it is not only a promise of some future reality, but the powerful present reality for those who accept and trust in God’s atoning work in Jesus Christ as our substitute.
Yes, many live in a hell of their own making. They experience the broken fellowship and silence of heaven. They exist every day moving closer and closer to the reality of eternal, outer darkness. And God hates it. Jesus overcomes it. And you can turn from it…to the abundant life you were created for. If you only will.
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