ClickCease

Lock It Down! God is in Control

I heard a speaker from South America, a man who had a deeply spiritual and unusual relationship with God.  He made a comment I've never forgotten.  He said that spiritually, he lived up here, holding his hand high, and we live down here, holding his hand low.  He wasn't intending to demean our spiritual condition, but was making the point that there is a spiritual realm that most followers of Christ have not arrived at—and probably never will—perhaps especially in North America. You see, in our capitalist, scientific, consumer brand of Christianity, the supernatural is just that, not natural.  To this man, the supernatural was natural.  To him, being Christian meant that he sees the world from God's point of view.  He doesn't believe in coincidence, accidents or surprises when it comes to his belief and understanding of God.  His God is the Creator of all things and holds all things together.  His God is all-powerful, all-knowing and a God of plan and purpose.  His God raises up one and puts down another, because He is in charge of the affairs of men.  He is never surprised at what happens because He already knows.  His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. He knows everything, and He's everywhere all the time, and makes all His decisions with our best interests in mind.

So, it follows that He never bites His fingernails wondering what is going to happen or who is going to win, like, an election.  Many followers of this God were biting their fingernails and bordering on a state of panic because they believed there was so much at stake in this recent election.  So, why were they afraid?  Probably because they were focused on the potential problem rather than the solution.  I'm thinking that if we have our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, and if we have the Gospel on our hearts like He has it on His, we have absolutely no reason to be afraid.  God is committed to seeing people reconciled to Him through His Son's shed blood on the Cross.

News flash! God knew who was going to win this election!  God will put the right man in office that will do the best job in accomplishing His Gospel agenda.  All candidates have agendas.  So does God.  In light of these truths, if our desired candidate loses, will we praise God anyway?  Will we look at God and His ways and what He knows is best for the Gospel's sake, or in our limited understanding, want what we think is best for America, whether it's best for the Gospel or not?

The point is that when we, as God's people, can say, as Jesus did, "Not my will, Father, but Your will be done," we will praise God because He knows what's best regardless of how it looks or feels to us.  Let's keep in mind that it's not about winning or losing.  It's about God and His will being done on earth as it is in heaven.  You and I don't know which candidate will serve God's Gospel purposes best, so let's trust Him with that, and praise Him no matter who won.  And by the way, I think God is saddened by how big a deal we're making out of this whole mess, as if He is no longer in control.  So let's lock our theology down and be about our Father's business, and relax.