“This event may be the catalyst to getting the family together again…”
“Let’s make this country great again…”
It’s no surprise to hear men without faith speaking in these terms, but when Christians express these perspectives, they may be excluding to various levels, the appreciation of God’s sovereign hand in causing Christians to grow substantially by sending or allowing times of adversity.
They may also or otherwise, be forgetting the extensive impact of the sin of Adam in this world.
In regard to the sin of Adam;
God provided a perfect environment for man in the garden of Eden, and man soon succumbed to Satan’s temptation, so subsequent deterioration was immediately evident in the form of death and corruption of thought and environment.
Perfection won’t be restored to any corner of this present earth; regardless of the efforts of well meaning men, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.” 2 Peter 3:13
There’s no doubt that Christians should endeavour to live righteously; we’re called, instructed and equipped to do so by Gods provision of His Word and Holy Spirit…
- Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
- Matthew 11:29-30 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
- John 16:13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
- Isaiah 30:20-21 And though the Lord gives you
The bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore,
But your eyes shall see your teachers.
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.
Keep in mind that the old man in his effort to gain control, will fill the mind with a confusion of voices, allowing for the prince of the power of the air to have his input, and drawing from the fleshes own self destructive library of advise; but the way of peace is to disconnect from earthly resource and meditate on God’s Word, sing His praise and tell Him of your love for Him.
If we acknowledge the presence of sin in our own flesh, then we may better appreciate that its activity in us and others, is the basis of the global “problem”. The answer to “the problem”, isn’t to try to extinguish “spot fires”, or to excavate the hills to make everything easy going, it’s to keep our eyes on Christ instead of others and ourselves.
It may seem to be a cliché to say “look to Christ”, but He is in fact the answer. Looking to Christ by reading His Word, committing our concerns to Him, trusting in His promises, treating others as He did, and resting in The Fathers strength as He did, and separating from dishonourable ‘Christians’ so that we “will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” 2 Timothy 2:21
I remember the scripture that speaks of His having read from the book of Isaiah in the synagogue; after having read and spoken, it’s said that they marveled at the words of grace that came from His mouth (Luke 4:22), we should certainly be more like Him, not moved by fear or anxiety, not battling to get things “right again”, but resting in faith in God, trusting Him in all things! Standing still and seeing the salvation of The Lord.
Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.
“Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
- An expression of His love.
- An opportunity to grow.
- An invitation to see a portion of God’s work.
- An opportunity to participate in His Kingdom, for His glory.
- A period of pruning the flesh.
- A refining of the Saints, by fire from God.
To be refined by the perfect hand of the creator and upholder of the universe, is a privilege and joy at the end, even though it’s a grief at the time, and a painful one for the natural man. But as the natural man is reduced, the new man grows brighter, and as God prunes and burns the garbage off the Saint, the new man reflects the glory of Christ in this desert land, so that the lost can see there is hope in Christ each day, and the Saints are encouraged by Christ, through each other, to persevere and GROW!
Hebrews 12:8 “But if you are without chastisement, of which all are partakers, then you are bastards and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected [us], and we gave [them] reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For truly they chastened [us] for a few days according to their own pleasure, but He for our profit, that [we] might be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now chastening for the present does not seem to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who are exercised by it. 12 Because of this, straighten up the hands which hang down and the enfeebled knees. 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed. 14 Follow peace with all, and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord;”
The new man doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
“Getting Things Right Again”
Then it’s got to be… walking closer to God through Christ, meditating on His Word day and night.
Then everything else will be seen in the light of His wisdom,
His glory, His honour, His kingdom, and we’ll be in His rest.
and I in whatever state I am, I’ll have learned to be content.
Study like a Berean! 