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Thoughts from my life to yours
To be honest with you, I have been truly heart sick over the state of our world lately. I have openly wept over the twisted and corrupt culture that we live in that allows such repulsive and depraved behavior. I have prayed and prayed but with little hope. I don’t say that lightly because I truly believe that God gives us the privilege of prayer for a reason!
I guess I’ve been so heavy hearted because a small part of me has started to believe that God has somehow lost control. I want to bite my lip, or slap my own hand for even typing those words but in all honesty, that is where my thoughts have gone. Until this morning.
In His loving, yet disciplinary wisdom, God led me to read Romans 13. I don’t want this to be about politics, although I will mention that I vetoed any watching of anything political for about a week before the elections…I just couldn’t take any more! No, I mention it because the movement of an organization, company or a nation begins from the top down. So I read Romans 13, 1-7 to be exact.
“Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by God. So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow. For the authorities do not frighten people who are doing right, but they frighten those who do wrong. So do what they say, and you will get along well. The authorities are sent by God to help you. But if you are doing something wrong, of course you should be afraid, for you will be punished. The authorities are established by God for that very purpose, to punish those who do wrong. So you must obey the government for two reasons: to keep from being punished and to keep a clear conscience. Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid so they can keep doing the work God intended them to do . Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and import duties, and give respect and honor to all to whom it is due.” Romans 13:1-7
So there you have it: Obey my government because GOD PUT THEM THERE! For me, that was good enough. It is proof that regardless of who says or does what, God IS truly in control and no matter what happens He has not left us.
On went my rebellious ranting to my ever gracious Father: “Why is the ‘media’ so ready to bash anything that is ‘right’! I am so tired of this. It seems like such an endless battle, no one will ever know that there are really good people and a really good God if they keep showing and printing such filth all time! “They” don’t play fair! “They” are biased and one-sided! “They” are slanted and partisan!” – I told you, He is very loving and unbelievable patient with me.
He very quietly reminded me that He didn’t send the TV or the newspaper to tell the world about Him…He sent me.
Ouch.
My job as a child of the King of Kings is not to ‘fix’ “Them”, it is to tell a dying and lost world about the most amazing and precious Gift this world has ever been given in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is to tell the world that there is hope outside of depraved and repulsive behavior. It is to let the world know there is forgiveness and peace and joy and kindness and goodness and gentleness and love.
God made it clear that He is still in control and even if “They” don’t play fair, I still have a job to do.
I know I have co-workers out there. We may be a little dismayed by all that is happening in this ol’ world, but take heart, the great I AM has things fully in hand and we have our orders.
Let’s get to work.
Hi, my name is Kathy. I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a wife, a mother and now (because my husband really wants me to) am collecting my thoughts into this blog. I hope you might be encouraged, or even challenged by the discussion here, and I look forward to reading your comments. I am a stay at home mom, my husband is the lead pastor of the multi site CrossPoint Church, and my two boys are named Noah and Nathan. Many blessings!
Crystal
November 14th, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Hi kathy-this is an awesome post! Thank you for sharing! But I do have a question. I’ve also read that we should stand against laws that go against God’s. You know as well as I do that many of the laws our government are passing directly go against God’s. How do we handle this??
admin
November 14th, 2012 at 6:06 pm
Hi Crystal,
Let me first say thanks for taking time to read my blog and that I don’t dare say that I have all the answers. The peace that I have comes from knowing that no matter who holds what position in our or any other country, God is still securely on His throne and is firmly in control. I also know that there are examples in the Bible where Christians disobeyed the law of the land in order to obey the law of God, however they paid the consequences for it. While I hold the deepest respect and regard for the elected positions in our government, I too refuse to turn my back on my beliefs to appease the laws of man. By that I mean, I will not go against what I know the Word tells me to or not to do just because my government tells me to or not to, BUT I know there will be a price to pay for it. I also realize that in choosing to disobey the law of the land for the law of the Lord, I forfeit my ‘right’ to complain about any mistreatment I may receive or ‘unfair’ advantage others may have over me or even incarceration. I believe this comes as a natural consequence for not “playing by the rules”. I hope this makes sense. Please know that I do not say or take any of this lightly and I in no way advocate for unlawful behavior. I personally, have yet to ever be asked to do something by my United States government that goes against the commandments given by my Lord and Savior and I pray I never will. I pray for the government and I pray for my fellow Believers that we will be bold in our love for government officials, even the ones that “don’t play fair”…
Jane George
November 14th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Great article, Kathy. It is frustrating. And there are people on both sides who want to do good… and do. The media is so LOUD (wish I could use a huge, screaming font for the word LOUD) and it feeds us such sensationalistic drivel because it sells. It can seem that one quiet voice compared to the LOUD media is of little consequence, but I try to remember that words of love and gentle truth are never wasted. Just have to leave the results of that in God’s hands.
What translation is that, btw?
admin
November 14th, 2012 at 6:09 pm
Hi Jane,
If you ever find the perfect font for “LOUD” let me know, I would love to use it! 😉
Thanks for taking the time to read the blog. You are very right my friend, God hears us even when we are not LOUD and He makes sure those that need to hear that quiet truth are within listening distance too.
It’s the New Living Translation…Love It!!!
Crystal
November 14th, 2012 at 6:21 pm
Kathy, thank you! That was perfect and definitely food for thought. Perfect!
Bev
November 14th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
Great blog, Kathy!! I totally agree with you that God wants to use us as His followers to show the world who He is. The best way to change our world is to reach out to others and allow God to change hearts through us–not just expecting our government to take care of things. Thanks for all you and your family are doing to do just that!
Michelle Barragan
November 15th, 2012 at 11:04 am
Thank you Kathy for the reminder that God is in control and not surprised by any of what’s going on in country right now. I forget the “obey” part sometimes when I don’t agree with who is in office. Thank you for reminding me to respect them and honor God!