So, I had the title in mind for this blog, and then I wrote it but it was all a bit impersonal and probably theological. I felt challenged to go back and think again.
What was in my heart to say was that no matter what is going on, no matter what happens – God is absolutely in control and He absolutely will win.
Personally this has been a difficult year in some respects. Not completely awful, not without its high points, and not without its victories. But like most or all of us, there have been times when I find emotions rising to the surface that need holding in perspective. There is frustration, annoyance, disappointment as we yo-yo from one apparent crisis to the next. Hope is held out before us and then snatched away again, culminating in the expectation of a relatively normal holiday break with family, only to have that taken away at the last minute.
So how do I keep all this in perspective? What is the proper perspective? It’s a matter of putting all this stuff in its right place in the bigger picture without diminishing the importance of what people are going through. Simply to say “God’s in control” and sit it out is not enough. But the most important part of understanding the bigger picture is knowing that God holds the picture frame. He determines the boundaries of the picture and He determines the end result. He does win.
Once I understand that, my next question should be “So where do I fit in this picture – what do I do?” And as we ask that question I think we need to accept that it might be some while before normality returns.
One of the effects of the current crisis has been to fragment the Church in this country. We have all been locked away in our own homes to a certain extent. I think God wants to take advantage of the situation to make us re-think how we do church. [Read my articles in the Articles section of this website where I have started looking at this issue].
But I also think He wants to take advantage of the situation by making us re-think how we function as believers in the community. We simply cannot allow the current crisis to neutralise us or make us ineffective. Satan also wants to take as much advantage of the situation as he can, in order to do just that.
Satan knows that we are on the verge of a big move of God in this nation and he will do everything in his (limited) power to use the current situation to separate us and neutralise us. We need to resist. We need to fight back. Satan is worried, and rightly so.
The country is full of people who have been terrified by the news media and government pronouncements. Fear has gripped them. Love casts out fear. We carry love, not fear. We carry Jesus with us wherever we go. Now more than ever is the time to reveal Him to others.
We need to strengthen our relationships with other believers and encourage one another deliberately, with intent. We are always better united even if it’s just two or three. We need to encourage each other to relate more and more to those who don’t yet know Jesus; to look for opportunities to pray for them, to bring them one step closer to surrendering to Jesus. This is the job of the Church. We are the Church. The fact that we don’t meet on a Sunday at the moment is irrelevant.
There are three things that we can pray for:
- Pray for the other believers you connect with
- Pray for opportunities to impact those around us who don’t have a relationship with Jesus – and take the opportunities that arise, even if they seem tiny.
- Pray for the enemies plans and strategies to be unravelled and exposed. Only God wins.
Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.
Psalm 115v2-3
I am sorry if you were wanting a nice Christmassy blog, but the birth in the stable was a declaration of war with the total assurance of victory. I hope you have the best Christmas that you can, but don’t forget that whatever happens; He wins, we win. Simples
Church is out there 