God Is In Control

Deuteronomy 9:1 and 4 - Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky.

….After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you.

The time had come…they would be crossing the Jordan soon…with God as a consuming fire to go before them. Moses did not get to go with them…so he chose some of his last words carefully.  He reminded them of their many rebellions against God…and his mercy towards them.  He reminded them that they were in no way righteous and deserving of this wonderful gift…that God saw wickedness in the nations they would be driving out.

Day after day I wake to yet another story on the news that shows the level of wickedness that God is tolerating in my own nation. Even in my own hometown an attempted murder/suicide... at the hands of one of my own Sunday School class members…. sent waves of grief and confusion through the remaining members.

I am no scholar…my Bible knowledge is meager…but from what I have read in just Revelation...it’s going to get a whole lot worse. God says that evil will be given its time of reign on the earth…perhaps I am seeing the birth pains of this prophesy.

The Bible also records my only hope is to cling to God...his promise to keep me as his child is my consuming fire.  It is this knowledge that keeps me from sitting up at night…fearful of what might be coming next. Staying focused on him…remembering what he can do for me if  am confronted personally with any of this evil…is what brings comfort and strength to not let this evil claim any of the joy God meant for me to have as his child.

I am not worthy of this….I was born in the same sin that perpetuates this evil. I am saved only by my choice to love and believe in the death Jesus died on the cross….covering all the sin anyone might do in the years before his second coming. It’s this faith that will save me in the end… giving me a permanent home in Heaven someday.

I am reminded that my purpose on earth is not to worry about how bad it is in the world…but to make sure that I model love and try to convince as many as possible to join me in Heaven.  Copied from “Google”… “68% of all the unaffiliated expressed belief in God and out of the whole US population, only 2.4% self identified as "atheist." A 2013 poll by UPI/Harris showed that three-quarters of U.S. adults say they believe in God, down from 82 percent in 2005, 2007 and 2009.” LESS people are joining me in belief in God…no wonder we are seeing an increase in evil.

One last thought…my prayers in this time of craziness are very important.  I can pray the selfish prayer….come quickly Lord Jesus. But all that does it give the ones who don’t believe less time to change their mind. My prayer should be…use all this evil that you are allowing in the world to help convince others to believe in you.

Father…thank you for the reminder that no matter how bad it gets on this earth…you are in control. Forgive me for the times that I only pray selfishly for my own protection and the protection of the ones I love and know. Help me to release any worry or fear I have for what is in the future…and pray for you to use everything that happens in the world to help others come to know you and the love that will ultimately put all of this evil completely out of the picture. Amen.