“Then
Job answered the Lord and said: I know
that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without
knowledge?’ Therefore I uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful
for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and
I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of
you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see you; therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”
(Job
42:1-6 ESV)
Who is this God we claim to know? Do we really know Him? Have we not created in our own minds a god
who is less disgusted with our sin; a god who second guesses, and changes His
mind like we do? We have created in our
minds a god who is weak like us; who is faulty like us? And because we have created this weak faulty
god in our minds, we are not able to trust Him, because this god we created is
prone to the same failures as we are.
But this is not the God of the Bible, the God who has created us; given
us life and breath; given us redemption through the blood of His own Son, Jesus
Christ.
When we fail to recognize the
sovereign nature of our God, it’s no wonder that we worry that this one or that
one will be elected to the presidency, or that this party or that one will be
in power in our government. When we have
forgotten that God inspired Paul to write in Romans 13:1, “Let every person be
subject to the government authorities.
For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have
been instituted by God”, it’s no wonder that we act and think as though the
world as we know it is coming to an end.
If the world comes to an end, it is the end that the Lord, the sovereign
God of all has set for it. If our once
great nation ceases to exist, it will be because the Lord has deemed it
so.
If that were to happen, if our worst
fears were to come to pass, what might be God’s purpose in allowing it to
happen? Just as the nation of Israel got
fat and happy when they had finally arrived at the Promised Land, and subdued
so many of the nations around them, they began to think it was because of their
own strength, their own goodness and righteousness that won them that position,
and they soon forgot the provision of the Lord that made their current status
possible. They forgot how they were
slaves in Egypt until the Lord delivered them out by His own might and supernatural
power. They forgot how the Lord fed them
in the wilderness where there was neither food nor water for them, but He
provided it to them.
Have we not traveled down much the
same road? Before this nation took
shape, before patriots dreamed of such a nation, this land was sought out as a
place of refuge where people could freely worship God; a place where force of
government did not determine the mode or model of their relationship with their
God. Now we have largely forgotten who
this God is, and we have made a god that is much easier to please, a god who
has lowered his standards to smile at our scandalous behavior.
One thing will be true on November 9,
2016, whether we choose to recognize it or not. God, the Lord Almighty will still be on His
throne in heaven with Jesus Christ, His Son at His right hand. He will still be a God who is perfectly
righteous and holy, but for those who would be truly repentant before Him, He
will quickly pardon through the shed blood of His Son. Let us leave room for Him on the throne of
our own hearts and lives, and allow no other, not some political leader, nor
our own ego to reside there. Let God be
God, and let us faithfully serve Him, and not pretend it to be the other way
around.
By
His Grace Alone,
Pastor
Bruce Jacobsen
