Day 19

Well, today is Election Day and whether we like it or not, we are going to have a new president. We might not agree with all the views of the elected candidate but we still live in a country that has been blessed by God and we need to continue to pray for guidance for our leaders. We may believe that our country is headed for horrible times in the next few months and years until we finally get someone in office who will be perfect for the job. The problem is that we cannot get a “perfect” president because every person in America will not agree 100% with one candidate or another. I’m not here to talk about politics though, this is just a little intro to what I have in store.

I felt that God was leading me to a book near the back of the Old Testament today. I had no idea what book or what concept I was looking for and then I came upon Habakkuk.  Chapter 1 is a great example of how we live our lives most of the time and how some of us are looking at this election. Habakkuk is almost literally wrestling with God over what is going on around him. He says, “How long, O Lord, must I call for help but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.” I do not know how many times I ask God why I keep going back to that one sin that I keep committing or why that person has to push me away when I try to reach out to them. Why did one of your faithful servants get called home before I got to see them one last time? Why did that person get put in charge of me when all they do is degrade me or they do not listen to me? Why does this person treat me poorly when I have done them no injustice? Why is everyone out to get me? It is easy for me to complain when things do not go my way or when I do not understand why God does not make things easier for me. I tend to complain about a lot of stuff and I still really do not understand why God made this last year go the way it has. I worked so hard to be able to go to college and play Baseball and it seemed like he did not even care about that because I did not even get a real opportunity. At first I did not even understand why I was at my first high school and questioned why I would get placed in such a bad situation when I could have gone to school in California IF we had just stayed there. Complaining is much easier that giving glory to God and thanking him for what he has given us and the work he is doing in our lives.

God’s response to Habakkuk was, “Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” God then goes on to explain how he is raising up the Babylonians to sweep across the land and take out some of those who are evildoers. The scripture is not very clear on what they will do, but from what I can gather from the context, this seems like the explanation God is giving. Basically what this means for me is that even though I do not fully understand what is going on, in time, God will execute his plan for my life and clear up what I believe is a mess although in his eyes it is just careful planning. Trusting in him and believing that there is a way out and he does listen, it just takes time for the execution of the plan. Once again, patience comes into play. If everything were as easy as just asking for things to be taken care of, there would be no faith involved in being a servant and loving God. I must remember that even when I feel like God is not there and I cannot believe how something so horrible could happen, he is really right there and comforting me because he said he would never leave us or forsake us.  Therefore, it is imperative to accept what God has for my life and understand that things will get better after the storm, it just takes getting used to going through the tough times.

That being said, no matter who wins the Presidential Election, and no matter how bad we think our president is, we must remember that God is taking care of things. We might not see how he is working but he is looking at the big picture while we only look at how things affect us directly. We must pray that his love and mercy is poured out on those who stand on the principles in which OUR great nation was founded on. Those who refuse to say that it is okay to take God out of our nation, the ones who stand up for what they believe in, instead of going with the crowd. I believe that every generation in this world has had this concept of waiting for the end of the storm. Israel dealt with it while wandering in the desert; the Jews and the rest of the world survived Hitler and WWII though there were many casualties, God intervened and made sure those who were evil were punished; Women have seen civil rights for themselves rise up from nothing; racism is not completely gone but God has helped empower people to fight back and limit it. There are many examples that could be used but the point is that sometimes it takes time for us to understand how God’s plan is going to be revealed through what is going on.  We must embrace who ever becomes president whether we agree with them or not, the only way we can make change work is by trying to help those who are lost and do not see things the way we do. My last reference to God’s plan would be in the future, how could God let the tribulation happen? Satan ruling the world and so many people being subjected to such horrors, the persecution and killing of Christians as well as people having to carry the mark or die? The answer is that hen comes the return and the triumph of OUR LORD the ONE TRUE GOD. The banishment of Satan to hell forever as well as freedom pain for those who chose to follow. The truth is that we know things are going to get worse before they get better so we must prepare and stand strong as things begin to get tough. God lets bad things happen because he is sovereign and he shows us that after the storm will come great rewards and treasures. We just need to trust him and seek him instead of complaining to him about how bad things have become.

I love each and every one of you who reads this; God has great things in store for us. Continue to seek him everyday and if you are not a Christian but want to know more or are ready to give your life to Christ, contact me and I will discuss what it means and walk you through it. I will also get you in touch with someone who can help you further. Feel free to call me anytime or comment on here. Hope that everyone who could vote did vote. Have a wonderful day.

 

Joseph Robinson