All
the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, “What have You done?” Daniel 4:35
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, “What have You done?” Daniel 4:35
Dear Congregation,
These
words were spoken by King Nebuchadnezzar after he been restored to sanity by
the Lord and recognized that though He was the most powerful ruler in his known
world, he still was not anywhere close to being God. Personally, I love this
verse as it is a reminder to me that there is no event or circumstance that is
worth panic, frustration, or anxiety. When we do panic, we are forgetting the
purpose and force behind our reality. When I was in younger elementary school I
was part of a little league baseball team. I think I mentioned before how I
contributed little or nothing to the sport. However, in fourth grade, an event
burned into my memory and stayed with me through life circumstances. I remember
our team in the middle of a game losing badly. I remember sitting in the dugout
watching the coach react to a particularly bad strike out. He began to bang his
head against the cinderblock wall of the dugout in frustration. Even as a kid I
recognized that this was not worth that type of reaction. Our understanding of
God helps us to see our negative reactions in much this same light even when
they appear to us as important.
It
is necessary to remember that Christian rest is not fatalism. The outsider may
interpret it as such as we rest in whatever God sends as right. But in
fatalism, humanity is trapped in a string of events without purpose or hope.
The Christian not only knows there is purpose behind events but also
personality. That personality is what gives us the satisfaction with God’s
will. He has told us who He is, what He has done for us and where we will be
going. He has told us that he loves us. He has sent His Son to live like us and
die for us so that we have become His Sons and daughters undeservingly. This
can never be said about cold empty fate.
So
the question for our hearts is still why does life frustrate and scare us so
much. The Gospel teaches us to love Christ more than wealth, parents, children,
siblings, health, safety, food, or any earthly provision. When we come to a
place of knowing God and loving God so well that none of these things matter,
then we find our true rest because our only satisfaction is in Him. We can love
our family without fearing their loss because we love God more. We don’t have
to worry about loved one’s salvation even though we pray for it. He does what
He plans on doing and no one can stop Him or even dare challenge Him by asking
what He thinks He is doing. We bow the knee, we trust, we obey, and we find our
satisfaction totally in Him and His instruction. We have peace even when we do
not get the results we would like in life. Enjoy Him alone, Glorify Him alone,
rest in what He ordains, for Hi alone is right.
In Christ,
Pastor Basile
