OK, confession time: I am often concerned, worried and even fearful about the state of the world, and especially, of late, the United States. For example, the very thought of Kamala winning on November 5 makes me very concerned indeed. I sometimes wonder if things can get any worse.
So as those thoughts once again raced through my mind this morning, I realised that I needed to repent of my lack of faith, my lack of trust in God, and my tendency to keep my eyes focused on all the problems around me instead of on God.
While Christians differ on many things, all of them should know that in one sense or another – in one way or another – God is sovereign. He is in control. Things do not catch him by surprise. He is working out his plans and purposes. He is still on the throne.
Yes, believers will understand divine sovereignty differently. But at the very least, it means that God is still God, not just in relation to individuals, but to nations as well. The Bible throughout makes this case. Listing the many passages which speak of God being in control of rulers, of princes, of peoples, and of nations would turn this into a very long article indeed.
So, what if I radically limit myself to just one bit of the biblical data? Consider these 16 passages from Psalms:
Psalm 2:1-6 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
“Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”
The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
“I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
Psalm 9:5-6 You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
their cities you rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
Psalm 9:19 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;
let the nations be judged before you
Psalm 22:28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
Psalm 33:10-11 The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
Psalm 44:1-3 O God, we have heard with our ears,
our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old:
you with your own hand drove out the nations,
but them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
but them you set free;
for not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and the light of your face,
for you delighted in them.
Psalm 44:9-14 But you have rejected us and disgraced us
and have not gone out with our armies.
You have made us turn back from the foe,
and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
You have made us like sheep for slaughter
and have scattered us among the nations.
You have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them.
You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and scorn of those around us.
You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
Psalm 46:6-7 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Ps 47:2-3 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
Psalm 47:7-9 For God is the King of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm!
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly exalted!
Psalm 59:8 But you, O Lord, laugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.
Psalm 76:12 He breaks the spirit of rulers;
he is feared by the kings of the earth.
Psalm 82:8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are your inheritance.
Psalm 105:12-15 When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in it,
wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”
Psalm 135:8-12 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and of beast;
who in your midst, O Egypt,
sent signs and wonders
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
who struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings,
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
and gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.
Psalm 136:10-22 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and brought Israel out from among them,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who divided the Red Sea in two,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who led his people through the wilderness,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who struck down great kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and killed mighty kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and Og, king of Bashan,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and gave their land as a heritage,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
a heritage to Israel his servant,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
While each of these passages can be looked at more closely, taken together they do paint a pretty clear picture: God is in control – even of the nations – and because of that, we need not fret and fear and worry and despair. That should be good news to all of us, including a worry wart like me!
Practical application
While we can rejoice in the truths of God’s clear hand over the nations and the rulers of this world, that should not lead us to wrong conclusions. It is the old divine sovereignty and human responsibility conundrum. How they both go together is a mystery, but Scripture explicitly affirms both truths.
So while we can and should rest in the knowledge that God is actively involved in the affairs of men – including political affairs – that does not let us off the hook. We have work to do as well. At the very least, we need to pray like mad. And we need to carefully consider which parties and politicians and policies we should support as believers. And it even means some of us should consider running for office.
It does NOT mean we just sit back and do nothing. Yes, God is bringing about his purposes. But he has chosen to work through his people. He uses us, our prayers, and our activities, as a means of achieving his own ends. So now is not the time to pull out. Now is the time to get involved more than ever before.
Pray for America
Just as I was finishing this piece, I got an email alerting me to a major prayer initiative for the US and the upcoming elections. Here is part of it:
Dear Praying Friend,
As many acknowledge, we are in a battle for America, indeed for the whole world, during 2024. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza could both escalate us into World War III with Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, a new axis of hostility that wants to take America down. Marxist globalist elites are trying to establish a “New World Order” through the United Nations and other international institutions to diminish the sovereignty of all nations and eventually deprive us of our individual freedoms in their bid to control all of humanity. In violation of our own laws, the current U.S. administration has flung our borders wide open so that millions of unvetted, illegal aliens can enter to settle wherever they want, also lured by plenty of social benefits provided at our taxpayer expense. Crime has exploded in many of our cities, and fentanyl drug overdoses claim the lives of up to 100,000 per year.
These are just a few of the most anxious challenges that have now thrust America into perhaps the greatest existential threat we have ever faced. Once a superpower that sought to spread and uphold faith in God, democracy, human rights and freedom based on the Judeo-Christian worldview, our nation is now increasingly becoming pagan in its attitudes. Many cravenly support the “anything goes” philosophy of hedonistic materialism, same sex marriage, transgenderism, and mass abortion up to birth. Already $35 trillion in debt, our government officials recklessly spend what we don’t have, piling up astronomical obligations on us, our children, and grandchildren, hastening the breakdown of a once strong and upright nation. Surely, we are now engulfed in the deepest challenge to our national existence–from the once vaunted world superpower to a weak, divided version of its former self.
A truly scary trajectory from the human perspective, but God and the exceedingly powerful, yet often untapped resource He has given His people through united, authoritative prayer! As E.M. Bounds put it: “Prayer can do anything that God can do!” It is time to come together and seek His face for the deliverance and destiny of America. We need to utilize this nation and world-saving resource, joining with our fellow Jesus followers everywhere. Let’s push back on the evil one’s intentions to subjugate America and the global Body of Christ to his Antichrist agenda for the nations.
Thankfully, the Lord has been moving the leaders of many prayer networks and ministries to realize this and come together, “letting our logos and egos go”, as one of them so aptly put it during our first meeting. We, therefore, want to invite you to collaborate with us in mobilizing all-out prayer for America during a special three-week initiative this Fall. We plan to kick it off with a three-hour Global Zoom Prayer Call, including international prayer leaders joining in from every region of the world, Sunday afternoon and evening, September 22. That will lead into three weeks of focused, coordinated prayer, along with full or partial fasting and regularly circulated prayer concerns to unite us in Matthew 18:19 agreement in what we are asking of the Father. This process will conclude on-site in Washington, D.C., with both the National Prayer Assembly, October 10-11 and the Million Women on the Mall gathering, October 12, the Day of Atonement. It will be a massive and glorious calling out to God, who has promised to hear, forgive, and heal our land when His people come together in desperation for His deliverance….
Yours in Christ,
Dave Kubal, Intercessors for America
Jason Hubbard, International Prayer Connect
John Robb, Transformation Prayer Foundation
(Representing the planning team of other networks and ministries)
