Thursday, October 22, 2020

What's the Condition of Your Heart? Twelve Days Til Election Day...

As I write, there are twelve days til Election Day.

Some of us have already mailed in our ballots.

This. This is a privilege. 

An honor.

We have the founding fathers to thank.

Great minds, who felt led by God...

To give us a government of the people, for the people, by the people.

And this was to be One Nation, Under God....UNABLE TO BE DIVIDED!

Wouldn't heads be shaking and hearts shattered if we could go back in time and give a report of this day to those who 

Fought

Shed blood

Died

Worked

Built

Wrestled through words

Sacrificed time, lives, and energy...

So we could have something better than what they once knew...

These gave us a constitution that protected freedoms...

And a military to guard the very same. 

The Lord gives us a voice in this great nation.

AND, even though this constitution came down through the pens of founding fathers; 

It was God's plan that's been in motion.

It still is.

He doesn't need us, as people...

But, oh, how He wants us.

No matter what happens on voting day, or what is written on a ballot, His plan will prevail.

This doesn't mean we stop exercising our rights or silencing our voice.

The rights we have are His sweet gift of grace to us.

But, whoever sits as President...

Whoever is in charge of Senate, or of the House, or who sits on the Supreme Court...

Well, the Lord God has appointed that man, or woman.

And His plans will prevail. 

XXXXX

In this I have GREAT PEACE.

No matter what the immediate future holds within our government, the Lord is still governing the world.

It's His World, after all...

And the little book of Habakkuk reminds me that the mystery of His ways can't be explained. 

Habakkuk reminds me God works on His own time table.

I'm reminded that even when the Lord seems to be absent, He is working behind the scenes....He's completely in this big thing called PROVIDENCE.

Sometimes He brings great blessing....

Sometimes He brings acts of judgment....

In the end 'bad folks don't get away with causing pain to His people...'

...and, His people don't get away with injustice. 

In the end, He will use all things for our good and His glory...

As I'm studying this little book, I'm reminded that God takes the very, very hard - maybe, especially, the very, very hard - and wants to use every circumstance to draw all of us to Himself...to tuck us gently under the shelter of His wings...


As I'm studying, I'm reminded that the world is filled with sinners...

But, there is a WORD OF HOPE for all of us who turn to Him...

There is the HOPE of HIM who died for us all...leading to our so-great-a-salvation!

There is the HOPE of HEAVEN-to-come...

A place with perfect government...

A place of joy and not sorrow...

A place of light and no darkness...

A place of love and no hate...

A place of peace and no chaos...

A place that greatly resembles the order of the world that God originally created....

Before...

Before we wanted our own way...

Before we thought we could do government better...

Before we took matters into our own hands...

Before we stepped out from under His care...

BUT...

In Habakkuk, I'm at peace because the Lord, our God, MY GOD, is from everlasting to everlasting (Habakkuk 1:12).

He is HOLY (Habakkuk 1:12).

He is still true to His promises (Habakkuk 1:12).

And He is our ROCK (Habakkuk 1:12)...

our place of REFUGE...

our security...

And He simply says to His followers, "Wait (Habakkuk 2:3)..."

"Live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4)..."

And, in remembering all this, and not looking about me: not at election results, or the possibilities of a failing economy, or a crippling pandemic, or cancer that consumes lives, or marriages that fall apart, or prodigal children, or evil running rampant....

I will....

Instead.....

WORSHIP!

I will....

REJOICE IN THE LORD.

I will...

TAKE JOY IN THE GOD OF MY SALVATION.

These are my choices.

My want-to out of a heart of obedience to the God I just described...

So....let's take some deep breaths.

Let's follow Habakkuk's lead.

Let's set an example, oh, followers-of-Jesus.


That we may be lights in a dark world...

Let's be Phil 2:14-15 people!!!

No matter the outcome of a 2020 election.

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