Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You. Psalm 33:20-22 (NKJV)
Whatever happens today and tomorrow, we know this: God is in Control. He causes nations to rise and to fall. His Sovereignty never changes. He spoke this very world into being. He breathed and all the stars were in place. He is righteous and just. He wanted to shower forth His joy, His love, and share His Glory with a people. Yet, for the creature to fully know the full magnitude of all this; they would have to be given choice. For if you do not know or see the magnificent excellence of the greatest treasure as compared to lesser treasures; how, could you ever choose that greater treasure. If you never saw the devastation of evil; how, could you know to choose righteousness or justice? Or see the beauty, grace and love of God; had you not first seen the darkness within your own heart? We tend to be drawn toward lesser beauties and counterfeit joys which draw us away from seeking the true and precious treasure of knowing God in all His beauty and excellence.
God was not taken off guard by Adam’s sin; for, He already had planned a means of salvation. Before the earth was formed, God had planned to display His mercy and grace to all who would come to accept the gift of salvation through faith. Jesus would come to pay the price that righteousness and justice would demand. God would send His Only Son who was the perfect echo of Himself; part of the triune being of God to receive the full wrath of God against sin. God created us in His Own Image: body, soul and spirit. So, Jesus Christ the “body” of God was sent to earth to bare the penalty of sin that rightfully was ours to bare. We could never see or understand the depth of grace we were given; if we, did not understand the agony of Christ upon that cross in our place, the sin that was laid upon His shoulders.
So, it is; until God says: “Enough!” and Christ returns to establish His Ultimate Kingdom; evil continues to run rampant in this world. Not because God does not care; rather, because He loves so much that He is awaiting the very last person who will be born that will accept Him as Savior. In His omnipotence, He knows when that will be. Until then He steadies His Hand of Justice; yet, He remains in ultimate Sovereign Control.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. Romans 1:17-19
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory Romans 9:21-23
God is Sovereignly in control. This is true when I understand the plan and when I do not. He is in control over this nation and He will be in control of the outcome of this vote; yet, that does not relieve me of my duty to pray, seek His Will and to vote. It does not relieve me of my duty to pray for all our leaders. Those whom I agree with and those whom I don’t. I must be praying for the salvation of all our leaders, for it is not within my power or knowledge to know who is redeemable or not. I am not God and cannot call any irredeemable. The only ones who will not be redeemed are those who refuse to accept by faith the gift of salvation presented by God, himself.
So, it is that I pray for Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Donald J. Trump and Melanie Trump all this prayer:
That the eyes of their hearts might be opened to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. That having done so that:
might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power Colossians 1:9-11
That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:10-11
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Ephesians 3:16-21
[bctt tweet=”Let this be our prayer for each of our leaders, nation, family, enemies, & ourselves today” username=”effiedarlene”]
[tweetthis]We must humble ourselves, repent for ourselves, our nation & pray[/tweetthis]
[bctt tweet=”May God open the eyes of our leaders that they might make Him Lord of their lives.” username=”effiedarlene”]
photo used: https://unsplash.com/@aaronburden who has some amazing photographs, check them out.
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Amen!
Amen!