Involved

06.01.13

Proverbs 19.21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Proverbs 20.24 A man's steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?

Proverbs 21.1 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.

Proverbs 21.30 No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord.

Romans 13.1 13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

This morning as I read Proverbs and Romans I was overcome with a not only a sense of God’s presence, but also His involvement in our lives. It seems there is ample evidence that God is deeply involved not only in our individual lives but also in our civic and national lives. How then can we ignore His presence?

Questions:

·         Are the Proverbs to be taken literally, or are they merely principles that point in a general direction?

·         Is mankind independent of the Lord or is he merely a part of God’s overall plan and purpose?

·         Is the king God’s tool, or is there free-will in his rule?

·         Is the king’s free-will rule, and the consequences thereof, part of God’s plan?

·         Is the ‘governing authority’ of which Paul speaks in Romans 13 free to do whatever it wants, or is it limited by God’s power and presence?

God is involved in our lives and when the righteous rule the people are at peace. The opposite is true as well, when the wicked are in power, the righteous hide. But there is no time or place in life in which God is not involved; every aspect and every moment of our lives is His to do as He pleases. The difficulty may seem to be finding Him in those moments of difficulty. But that is where faithful faith says: He is in control, what worries do I have?

I was not created to give answers to why God does what He does; I was created to trust Him no matter what He decides. If God is in charge of the king, then who am I to question? If the king takes the throne by force or deceit then who am I to stop him? If I don’t like the king and my gaze is removed from God, I am left only with my own resources to live out my life on my own. However, if my gaze remains fixed upon God, then I have all of His resources with which to accept life as it comes and a hope to guide me toward my meeting Him in heaven.

Father, You are in control and with every sense of the word I pray: God, save the king! Everyone’ll be better off if You do. Amen.