GOD IS IN CONTROL

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

O God, why have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture? Remember the nation You purchased long ago, the people of Your inheritance, whom You redeemed — Mount Zion, where you dwelt. Turn Your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

Your foes roared in the place where You met with us; they set up their standards as signs. They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees. They smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets. They burned Your sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of Your Name. They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!” They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.

We are given no signs from God; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be. How long will the enemy mock You, God? Will the foe revile Your name forever? Why do You hold back Your hand, Your right hand? Take it from the folds of Your garment and destroy them!

But God is my King from long ago; He brings salvation on the earth.

It was You who split open the sea by Your power; You broke the heads of the monster in the waters. It was You who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert. It was You who opened up springs and streams; You dried up the ever-flowing rivers. The day is Yours, and Yours also the night; You established the sun and moon. It was You who set all the boundaries of the earth; You made both summer and winter.

Remember how the enemy has mocked You, Lord, how foolish people have reviled Your name. Do not hand over the life of Your dove to wild beasts; do not forget the lives of Your afflicted people forever. Have regard for Your covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land. Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise Your name. Rise up, O God, and defend Your cause; remember how fools mock You all day long. Do not ignore the clamor of Your adversaries, the uproar of Your enemies, which rises continually.

Psalm 74

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After the election this week, there was a great uproar from the nation’s conservatives over the results. Many were disappointed. Still others were angry. Some predicted America would be plunging into doomsday or the apocalypse would start with Jesus returning. I even read where people were threatening to move to another nation vice stay here and live in America.

O if people today, especially believers, would be as passionate about God as they were politics. For if they were, they would realize that no matter who man might elect in the world, that person is still subordinate to the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and the President of presidents. God is on His throne where He has, is, and will always reign over the world.

God is always in control, even when we aren’t seeing it. We are only to place our faith and trust in Him and Him alone, and then wait for Him to work.

Look at the 74th Psalm and you’ll see where things weren’t exactly stable in Israel. They were under siege and the enemy had done major damage to include burning the holy sanctuary of God to the ground. In fact, scripture tells us that they burned every place where God had worshipped in the land. That wasn’t all. All the prophets were gone and the enemy mocked God in the presence of His people.

The psalmist shared the sentiments of the people of Israel who were looking for signs from God that weren’t forthcoming. They asked openly about how long things might remain the way they were with the enemies of Israel seemingly victorious in sin with no correction or consequence from God. Would God just sit back and refrain from action? This was at the forefront of the Israelites’ emotions.

But the psalmist then changed the focus of the psalm to God and His power as revealed in the past to save His people Israel. He remembered one very important thing about God, one we should always remember as we contemplate the happenings of the world around us. Look at these words from the psalm:

“But God is my King from long ago; He brings salvation on the earth.”

The God who had delivered, rescued, and saved Israel before was the same God who would rescue them again. And He is the same God who is alive and well today, ready to do the same in the 21st century.

The God who “split open the sea” was the same God who “broke the heads of the monster in the waters,” giving it as “food to the creatures of the desert. And this same God “opened up springs and streams,” made the day and night, the sun and moon, the summer and winter, and set all the boundaries of the earth. It was this God who was with and for Israel. And He is the God who is with and for us today, no matter the circumstances.

So don’t let your heart be troubled. No election result or anything else for that matter will ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39).

God is in control and thanks be to Him for that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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