“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars” – 2 Chronicles 16:9
Why would God blow a bullet an ears breath from a candidates head only to allow him to be defeated in an election? Would God do that? We will see. But in either victory or defeat, maybe God’s plan is to wake up that candidate to their need of a Savior. Maybe it is to wake up a nation to their need of a Savior. Maybe it is to show the forces of evil that God is in control, not them. Maybe. We will see.
Why would God raise up an outsider, one who shakes a fist and courageously cries, “fight, fight, fight,” against an assassin? Why would God raise up such a unique person to such popularity? Why would God raise up a man with such boldness and wit to defy the odds and expose an enemy? Why would God raise up a man in many ways vulgar and indiscreet against an entrenched haughty establishment government that serves self rather than their constituents? Maybe the LORD is warning us about the extent to which evil will go to hold power and position in our land. Maybe the LORD is depicting a prophetic picture of what it will take to deal with corruption. Maybe God is telling us to awaken, join the fray, be salt and light, and “you need to vote!” Maybe this is His beginning of having nothing to do with the unfruitful works of darkness but instead expose them (Ephesians 5:11).
Why would God allow our nation to become so corrupt, confused, and near collapse? Why are so many calling good evil and evil good? (cf. Isaiah 5:20). Why are we so divided? Why are our borders disappearing? Why do we neglect our own citizens and those who have served our nation at such great sacrifice in the military, while spending so mindlessly on those who illegally enter our land? Is it purely to secure a new voting block? Maybe its God’s way of exposing those who are traitors to our nation, who have little value for people but are all too willing to use them for their own devices.
Why do we spend such enormous amounts of money in foreign lands when at home people suffering from storms are offered just a pittance (and that as a loan that will need to be repaid!)? Why are people in our land so filled with hate concerning our country? Why do we lead the world in the dissemination and indulgence of pornography? Why are we murdering our babies in the millions? Why do we so easily dehumanize our youngest and most vulnerable people in the womb? Why are we so hell bent on participating in the destruction of people? Maybe God is showing us how heartless we’ve become.
Why do lies so easily proliferate while truth is so hard to find? Why are other nations laughing at us, deriding us, getting ready and planning to prey on us? Why are some so eager to go to war? Why is all of this happening to us? Maybe its to show us that we have little problem lying to get our way. Maybe its to show us we will sacrifice precious lives to gain more money.
Why? Why? Why? Because, I believe, Christians have been for the most part complacent, isolated, disengaged. We have broken the second greatest commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:34-40). We have forgotten and neglected and don’t even truly know what it means to be a Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). We are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). We have forgotten and neglected what true love; Godly-heaven-sent-fruit-of-the-Spirit love is (Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:22-24). Since love is from the Holy Spirit our lack of love is evidence we have not the Spirit! (Romans 5:5). Without the Spirit, we are lost (Romans 8:9-11).
All these sad degenerative elements in our nation are signs of God’s judgment on us (e.g., Deuteronomy 28; Psalm 33; Romans 1; 2 Timothy 3). Unless we repent, all will be lost. “If that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.” But “if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it” (Jeremiah 18:5-11). This is the message from God we need to hear. Because final judgment has yet to arrive, there remains hope. As long as we are still here, our calling is to spread the gospel and restrain evil (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7). Church, we are called to be a Pillar of Truth (1 Timothy 3:15). But judgment will only be averted through repentance by God’s grace in Christ. That is the biggest answer to these questions.
Why would God raise up a businessman to run for a political office? Maybe it was to answer the prayer of a presidential candidate patriotic to the core who bleeds red, white, and blue. Maybe it was to show people God can work through unusual instruments. Maybe it was to wake up politicians that His eye is on them, and He doesn’t like what He’s seeing. “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). “The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9a). That is true, but the rest of the verse says to a king who chose to trust in horizontal worldly alliances more than God, “In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you will have wars” (2 Chronicles 16:9b). God is watching, what will He see in us? We will soon find out.
Why would God, at our beginning, allow a despairing people in a new land to degenerate to the point where violence made streets unsafe, families were failing, drunkenness and depraved immorality were rampant, Taverns and jails were filled beyond capacity? Why would God allow that, but then bring a Great Awakening revival that healed the land and planted seeds of hope that would birth a nation? Maybe it was to encourage a remnant clergy that their sermons really did make a difference. Maybe it was to show that degenerate despairing people that God is real and there is always hope in Him when we repent. Maybe God was showing people what is possible through faith in God. Maybe it was to show the devil that God had different plans for this new land and its people, plans that would impact the world for His good.
Why would God, in 1776, raise up a nation of 2.5 million people from thirteen colonies to resist the tyranny of an Empire of 8 million? Why would God raise up 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, a document birthed in prayer and saturated by holy scripture, to rebel against and defeat the mightiest empire in the world at that time? Maybe it was to humble that empire and encourage the people of that fledgling nation. Maybe it was to show that nothing is impossible for a people who trust in God no matter how severely outnumbered. Maybe it was to show the truth that “blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 33).
Why would God, in 1787, raise up fifty-five of seventy-five delegates of the United States of America to debate and prayerfully create a Federal Republic composed of executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government in a Constitution the envy of the world, a document saturated with Biblical truths?
Why would God give us such a history? Maybe so we could return to that history periodically to reset and stay the course.
Why would God allow a nation to start, grow, and develop while the sin of slavery still existed inside it? Why would God allow that nation to be torn apart in Civil War to a great extent to solve that problem of slavery, a war that would cost that nation the greatest loss of its people than in all other wars combined? Maybe the Lord was teaching that people that injustices such as slavery were unacceptable to Him. Maybe the Lord was teaching that nation that some issues are worth fighting for and solving, even at great cost. Maybe the Lord was teaching us that liberty for all is worth spilling blood if necessary. Maybe the Lord was trying to teach us that Christians can be wrong and can wrongly use scripture to support their unjust positions in life. Maybe the Lord was teaching that it takes steel hearted strength and a willingness for leaders to withstand criticism and political compromise because there are some issues you just can’t compromise on.
Why would God allow the world to be enveloped in wars for more, for vengeance and tyranny that would cost millions of lives? Why would the Lord choose to use the United States of America to intervene in these international wars in pivotal ways? Why would God use these world wars as the means of developing weapons that would one day threaten the existence of the creation on His earth? Maybe God was showing the world the depths of human depravity. Maybe the Lord was showing us that there are some injustices beyond our borders that are worth our involvement. Maybe God was trying to show this nation its potential for good as well as its potential for bad.
Why would God allow the disaster of world wars to so depict the depravity of humanity that from the swamp of despair would arise atheism, godless worldviews, and an angst driven temporal carnality? Maybe it was to show humanity that there is a destiny determined by our decision to trust Him or not trust Him in life, no matter the circumstances.
Why would God allow the horrific holocaust of the Jewish people? Maybe it was to expose the devilish nature of antisemitism. Maybe it was to judge His people. Maybe it was to show that even from such horror, He can birth a nation for His people. Maybe it was just one more piece of evidence to show that God is true and able to enforce the particulars of His covenant that “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
Why would God allow the first two people He created to be placed in a wonderful Garden, be given free rein to eat of “every tree of the garden” except only one, the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Why would God to that and then tallow them to be tempted to disobey that one command by a serpent who would one day grow to be a dragon? (Genesis 2:16-17; Revelation 20:2). Maybe it was to teach those first two people, and us, that there is a consequence for disobedience. Maybe God was teaching us that our decisions can lead to blessing but can also create offenders and victims. Maybe from the start God was teaching us the profound responsibility of being created in His image with a sovereign enablement to choose good or evil.
Why would God allow Jerusalem to be surrounded by nearly two hundred thousand terrorists? Maybe it was to bring a king and prophet to their knees. Maybe it was to bring a people to their knees. Maybe it was to show those terrorists that God is in control, not them (2 Kings 18-19). Maybe it was so we now could look back and learn that no matter how outnumbered, with God on our side victory can be won.
Why would God allow His people to stray from Him into idolatry? Why would God allow His people to indulge their flesh, even sacrifice their own children to false gods? Why would God allow His people to be defeated and taken into captivity? Why would God allow His people to be removed from the Promised Land, the Land of Promise He Himself had brought them? Maybe it was to show them, and us, that holiness, honoring and respecting Him, obeying Him, being faithful to Him, are important to Him. Maybe it was to show in vivid detail that idolatry is a dead end. Maybe God wants us to know there are real consequences to not seeing that he alone is God, there is none like Him. Forsaking the One True God our Creator has dire consequences, then, now, forever.
Why would God choose to redeem wayward sinners and not just scrap us and start over? Why would God be longsuffering toward us, putting up with all of us fallen humans who are by nature stiff necked, disobedient children of wrath? (Romans 1-3; Ephesians 2). Why would God create a plan of redemption from the foundation of the world to deal with such darkness? (Hebrews 4:3; Revelation 13:8). Why would God send His Son Jesus to a world of sinful people, to be brutalized, rejected, and crucified? Why would the Son of God accept that mission and go to a world of sinful people? It was because “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). It was because He was teaching us about His grace. Our sins separate us from Him (Isaiah 59:1-2). Our sins kill our relationship with Him, but His free gift of grace leads to eternal life with Him (Romans 6:23).
Why would Jesus humble Himself as a bondservant and submit to human inflicted death? Maybe it was to set an example for us and to establish a basis for every knee to bow and tongue to confess Him as Lord. It was because the only way our sins could be dealt with and forgiven was for Jesus to become sin for us. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). God is just and His ways are just. He proved that on the cross of Christ (cf. Romans 5). It was because He desires that we “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance of a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’ (Philippians 2:5-11).
Abraham once commented to God, who was about to judge Sodom and Gomorrah, “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). Yes He will do right? We can count on that. Abraham goes on to ask God if He would hold back His wrath if there were a “righteous” “fifty,” “forty-five,” “forty,” “thirty,” “twenty,” and then “ten” living in Sodom (Genesis 18:26-33; cf. also Genesis 19). Each time God patiently affirmed He would hold back His judgment if there were righteous people remaining in the city. God is righteous. His judgment is righteous.
In light of that passage, Christian, do you realize you and I are very likely the one last reason God has yet to rain down His wrath on this Christ-rejecting nation?! However Christian, given the state of our nation, I wonder whether all the “Christians” are truly Christians, for would we be as we are as a nation if Christians were salt and light as Jesus calls us to be? Are you among the righteous? Are you?
One day soon the Bride of Christ, His Church, will indeed be removed. “For the LORD Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Then it says, “Therefore comfort one another with these words” 1 Thessalonians 4:18). Those words comfort us, but we should not mistake that for being comfortable.
Now is not the time to sit back and be comfortable. Now is the time to:
Romans 13:11–14 (NKJV) – 11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Keep in mind the context for those words is Paul’s teaching on the Christian’s relationship to government and the governed in Romans 13:1-10.
In all these extraordinary circumstances, from failed assassination attempts on a presidential candidate today, to the events of our nation and the world and in Biblical history we can and should see, the hand of God at work. NO MATTER WHAT, EVEN IF WE DON’T UNDERSTAND HIS PLAN, EVEN IF WE DON’T UNDERSTAND THE OUTCOME, WE SHOULD ALWAYS TRUST GOD AND HIS PLAN. HE HAS A PLAN, IT IS REDEMPTIVE, AND IT WILL COME TO PASS. Our choice is to trust or not trust Him. What will you do?
We are men and women given a mina or a talent to use here in this world (Luke 19:11-27; Matthew 25:14-30). We are ten virgins with lamps awaiting our Groom’s return hopefully with our lamps filled to the brim and overflowing with the oil of the Spirit (Matthew 25:1-13). Some are blindly groping to receive revelation from Jesus (Mark 8:22-26). Some are centurions looking for help (Matthew 8:5-13). Some are government officials pressed to their limits (John 4:43-53). Some are religious inquirers who know they are missing something (John 3). In all the circumstances of life, God is speaking, revealing, reaching out to us, no matter what. He reaches out with His patience. He reaches out with His discipline. He reaches out by walking among us. He even went to a cross for us. Why would God do what He does? Because of His love. Because of His grace. Because of you. Because of me. Because of His glory. God is watching us. What will He see? When we try to decipher the circumstances of life and ask, “Why would God?” That’s why.
If you are unsure of your standing with God the solution is not found in politics. We serve in and through politics, but we recognize it is not the end-all or answer to our questions, but only a part thereof. The solution to eternal life that begins now in this life is simple but profound. Consider this prayer:
Father God I come to You in Jesus’ name. I confess to you that I am a sinner, and my sins have separated me from You. I ask Your forgiveness not based on any good works of my own, but because Jesus paid my debt of sin by dying for me on the cross. In faith by Your grace I turn from my sins and trust in Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Please give me spiritual life by indwelling me with the Holy Spirit. Please help me to live for You; loving You supremely and loving others sacrificially in all parts of life; for Your glory until You return. In Jesus’ name, amen.
For your spiritual life to develop read and study your Bible regularly, find a Bible teaching fellowship and live out your faith. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you and teach you. Pray. Study and live out God’s word. Fellowship and worship the Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.