It is time we trust God’s sovereignty, this is by no means easy, but it is, faith. As difficult as that can be to do, to trust, it is what you are supposed to do – to God and His word and to act according to it. In the meantime, we are to be witnesses to His mercy, living as ambassadors from another kingdom, sent - while God does what He will do.
Trusting that God IS Sovereign: Psalm 82 “the gods…”, rulers of the peoples, unjust and uncaring. Do we believe and trust God’s sovereignty and His ability to bring about His will - “...on earth as it is heaven…”?
How do we honor God’s sovereignty, and truly join Him in His governing? We Pray.
James 5:13-20
How do we pray?
1 Timothy 2:1-4 NIV
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
Types of prayers encouraged:
Petitions
Prayers
Intercessions
Thanksgivings
While it is vital that we pray, we must be ready to see that praying is not all we can or should be doing…
Isaiah 58 …there are people around us, in front of us – real people – we must see that it is our privileged responsibility to minister to the lost and broken… (even though they might think that that is their condition!)
Who are the Oppressed among you? You will only know if you are approachable, accessible, and available. Then willing and able to engage and listen, care and pray, and when given the opportunity, when asked, prepared to give a reason for your (own) hope, peace, and joy – sharing your faith - and that - with “gentleness and respect” (please see: Jo 14:27; Ro 1:16; 5:1-5; 2Cor 4:7-9,13-14,16-18; Eph 4:14-21; Phil 4:6-7 1Peter 3:16).
We cannot allow ourselves to be swept into the national landscape in a way that keeps us from the person in front of us. And it is here we must be honest with ourselves – for the harder thing is not the praying or the discussing, but the actual and real loving of those right here, right now, with us… no excuse… (Matt 20:29-34; Ma 10:46-52; Lu 18:35-43; Acts 9:1-31; 1Cor 15:9; Eph 3:8)
We cannot allow ourselves to be swept up in the frenzy, dragged into arguments, provoked into the vitriol. We cannot be condescending or gloating, proud, or callous. Yes, we are called to “rejoice with those who rejoice”, and to rejoice when we see goodness prevail, and consider any good, right, and fair judgment or justice. But, it is also ours also to mourn with those who mourn and extend mercy and grace to those who so desperately need it. Those who are truly struggling – angry, feeling betrayed or put-upon, fearful and confused.
Jesus came for the people, and the peoples, but never forsook the person. He was never too busy or preoccupied to stop and engage and touch and heal and feed and speak. Jesus did not merely come to tell us the truth, but to be the truth, and then, to be and show us the way and the life.
Why? Psalm 8; Ps 139:13-18 Life, all life, every life, is precious “…fearfully and wonderfully made…”
Now that the initial response has subsided. Let us not be fooled, the things going on around us are not going away – now is the time for which I am, we are, here. And these are by no means easy times – I still do not pretend to have the answers - other than Jesus to us, in us, and through us… (1Cor 3:1-5; 2Cor 4)
Standing in the midst of the carnage that is our culture… Who are we to minister to? Whomever we encounter.
How are we to minister to them? In view of the mercy we have received and continue to receive - we are to minister with (that same) mercy and grace, sympathy and compassion, kind loving girded by truth. (Matt 5; Ro 5;12)
What are we supposed to do?
We must have a proper perspective - we have to be careful to not get caught up in the “macro”. That doesn’t mean don’t care about the bigger picture, in fact we must care – and that is why we are to pray for those who govern. What else? It is important that we are curious remaining informed and engaged, that we maintain a spirit of meekness and peace in the face of such chaos – that we are gentle, compassionate, respectful, and respectable - enabling us to be effective in our interactions, and vote our conscience.
Why is perspective important? Because, most of us will have a little direct influence on the direction of this country, in a political way, we must remember certainly, that prayer is a transformative discipline that places us in the midst of things that we are selves cannot be a part of. This shift in perspective keeps us from being distracted from what is our primary responsibility, that is for the lives, that life, right here in front of us. The lives, the persons, this person, we encounter. The people and persons, each one, who we encounter and have actual opportunity to bless and minister to –
Yes, these are very important “issues”, but there are people, persons, at the heart of this - and not everyone is - what we might perceive as an enemy. And even if they are what perceive as an enemy - how are we to treat them? (Matt 5; Luke 6; Rom 12). We must not forget that we are talking about people, persons, a person - loved by God, to whom Jesus was sent, and for whom Jesus gave Himself. There are those around us being ground up (mercilessly) in the machinery of our times and we are sent to them with the hope of Jesus.
Therefore, we must ask ourselves, can one
“Can be pro-life and still hurt for the hurting?”
“Can one be pro-life and not care about the life standing in front of them - now?”
“Who am I absolved from loving, who am allowed to not love?” (1John 2:5; 4:17)
