This has been the question on my mind in my daily prayers… more or less. Meaning, I cannot say I’ve raised this question every day. That said, I’ve long held our nation is at a crossroads. Yeah, I know it’s not a stretch. I never claimed to be a prophet, only an observer who sometimes extrapolates what I see. This crossroads, as I see it branches three ways. One is utter destruction as our nation collapses within itself. This is what the controllers are vying for. Another is an internal war. Again, the controllers would be fine with this as they see the end result would be the same… or nearly so. Finally there is restoration. This would be an act of God Almighty. My ideal would see our nation not only restored to a constitutional republic but to the republic as it was always meant to be. Thus WE the PEOPLE would step up and do our part as proper citizens, holding those we elect to represent us accountable. Bluntly put, I doubt if I would ever see my ideal come to fruition, however I’d settle for almost anything moving in this general direction.
Now my prayer is always for restoration, of course. Sue me. I believe in miracles and in the power of Almighty God. This morning I actually received an answer. As usual it was not the answer I might expect. What was the answer? It doesn’t matter. Yes. You are reading correctly. Strangely enough, I was not disturbed by this. On the contrary, I was at total peace. Why?
With the revelation I had, and I can only call it a revelation, I understood how I can best serve my Heavenly Father and my Lord Jesus the Messiah. What is that? Do good. Speak the truth. In other words, steady as she goes. No matter how the storm rages around me, I am to simply trust. More on this in a bit. Here is where things get, um, well you be the judge…
Granted I wrote the sentence above as thunder booms out my window. It’s the first rain we’ve had in quite a while. We can all write that off as my mind incorporating the surrounding environment as I write – right? Before I started this essay, I made my morning rounds to a couple of news and blog sites I frequent. This morning I was greeted with a warning about trouble stirring ahead in the form of major lockdowns to the extent of one needing “papers” to travel even within the state. Yeah, yeah, I know. Yet another warning about the coming evil. Along the same lines, we are being inundated with illegal aliens swarming across our southern border, the Delta variant is infecting both inoculated and those who are not. Yesterday, an article warned to get ready for the National Guard to start going door to door, jabs in hand or some such. A report from Florida says they’re experience the highest Covid deaths ever, though word has it the delta strain is less deadly than its predecessor. In other words, the future of this nation has not looked so bleak in my lifetime.
It is easier than ever to give in to the gloom surrounding us. The controllers are not letting up. Indeed they are doubling down. Without divine intervention they will succeed! I am certain of it. Certain but not concerned. Why? My trust is in God Almighty. Consider this passage from scripture:
Mark 14:32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.
33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?
38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
39 And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words.
40 And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.
41 And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
42 Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.
Jesus knew what was coming. He knew the scriptures so he understood he would be beaten so badly as to be unrecognizable. He knew he would be crucified. He knew his side would be pierced. In other words he knew he was in for a world of hurt. He also knew he didn’t have to go through all that! That’s right. He suffered all of this by choice. Even standing before Pilate (and I expect it took everything he had just to stand at that point.), he stood firm, with full knowledge the worst was yet to come! Yet for all of this his heart was “not what I will, but what thou wilt”.
Now if my Lord Jesus could endure all of that… if he could trust his Heavenly Father to deliver him… why can’t I? I am reasonably certain I will not have to go through anything like Jesus did.
Luke 12:4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
My prayer for my nation remains for the restoration of this nation but my stance is the same as that of my Lord Jesus as he faced certain death: “not what I will, but what thou wilt”.
1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
For decades I prayed to understand God’s Will for my life. I sought His Will in many other ways also. I prayed for wisdom and guidance for many different situations and a variety of circumstances. It took me a very long time to understand the true freedom I’d been granted by God Almighty. His Will for me has always been the same. No matter what I do or where I go, I am to:
Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Anything I do in accordance with the above is blessed by God Almighty. Anything. During my time on earth I have done many things that I’ve regretted. No, they were not all bad things, just, well, not optimal. Some of these I did actually believing they were what God wanted me to do. Were they? Possibly. Possibly not. IF I had set my sights on God rather than struggling to do whatever I thought He wanted me to do, I believe things may have turned out more favorably. I cannot say. What I am saying is seeking God’s Will is much simpler than most of us suspect. Are we putting God first in our lives? Is what we are looking to do in line with “love thy neighbor as thyself”?
Many of the decisions I made in the past, prayerfully or not, were made based on circumstances – a job offer or things happening in my current employment – some event or opportunity available to me. Many times these decisions were made under stress. Had my focus, my trust been upon my Heavenly Father, my decisions would have been far easier. This is not to say the outcome would always be without issue or as one might expect. Consider the plight of Joseph, for one.
The bottom line is, whether or not our nation is restored, as Christians, we need to keep our sights on God Almighty. This in no way guarantees a smooth ride to the end. As a matter of fact, we can expect turbulence and tribulation. The good news is we’ve all been able to peak at the ultimate outcome. Spoiler alert! God wins.