This is an interesting time in America. We’ve got a presidential election that appears to be flying off the rails at unprecedented speeds. We’ve got racial tension, moral confusion, and ethical chaos. It’s enough to make Christians wonder what this world is coming to.
The answer is that the world isn’t coming to anything new. It is and always has been lost, confused, chaotic, and disturbed. We have been living under the delusion in the U.S. that the world basically loves God, that the world basically believes the Bible. We have felt far removed from all of the terror and tragedy and loss that has been going on in the world (and down the street) for all these years.
But, here we are. America suddenly feels foreign. Christianity is being pushed to the fringes of society. Morality doesn’t seem important anymore. Everyone is truly doing whatever seems right in their own eyes, and saying that something isn’t right is committing the ultimate of all evils: judging. From transgender locker rooms in Washington to masturbation booths in New York City to sex trafficking in our own backyard to aborted baby parts to the highest bidder, Jesus seems less and less a part of the American equation. Christians are either angry or sheepish or terrified or all of the above.
The thing is that God has never, not for one single second, lost control of this place. He has never been caught off guard. He has never been confused or worried. And, somehow we Christians, His own children, we who should know His goodness, mercy, loving-kindness, gentleness, might, power, sovereignty more than anyone else, we fret about where this world is headed. We wring our hands and pace the floor, while almighty God sits firmly on His throne, Jesus ruling perfectly at His right hand. This world is held tight in the hands of the Savior.
So, the reality is that everything is really going to be okay.
No matter who is elected president. No matter how bad things get in this broken, fallen world. No matter how many heartaches we face or how many betrayals we endure. In the end of all things, we will see with our own eyes just how good He has been through it all. He hasn’t missed anything. He isn’t overwhelmed. One day He will set every little thing right again.
We are here to glorify His name. To make Him famous. To take the bad news of sin and the good news of a Savior to the very ends of this Earth. The mission doesn’t end even if America goes down in flames. We can shout His name from rooftops or whisper it in secret rooms, but let our concern be for His glory and not our comfort. He blesses in mansions on free American hilltops, and He blesses in slums in the most oppressed places on the planet. Our trust in God cannot be intertwined with our trust in this country. Man-made endeavors always disappoint. But, God never breaks His promises. He is freedom. Let His freedom ring.
The Great I Am still is. Let’s live like we really believe it.
Linda Lumsden
Amen!
Melissa
Thank you, Linda!
mercynew
That is exactly what I thought: AMEN!
Melissa
Thanks, mercy!
Laura Reimer
Oh what a voice you are in the midst of all this insanity – you speak TRUTH!!! And you speak it well!! Keep on!!! We need this encouragement daily! Thank you. God bless you <3
Melissa
Thank you so much, Laura!
Barbara.
Agree. Melissa speaks truth. We must hold onto our values and believe God is the Great I Am!
Emilee
Amen! Thank you!
Alice grisham
A breathe of fresh air. I found you through Tim Challis and have enjoyed you so much. This was spot on and what me and my close friends have been sharing. Man can not fix all that is wrong with the U.S. God told us how to “fix”” it and I have not seen a stamped to repentance. I am just glad to know how the book ends. That is what I cling to JESUS CHRIST.
GOD BLESS ALICE GRISHAM
amanda june
yes! love your perspective. I’m an American living overseas and have found what’s been going on in the U.S. to be depressing and disturbing to me. And don’t get me wrong, I do think it’s proper to sometimes find ourselves upset over the fallenness of the world and the celebration of brokenness (and, well, sometimes the just outright absurd). Yet I don’t often find myself fretting over the secular communist society I live in. Why? Because I expect the world to be the world and for God’s redemption to break in from the inside out. The kingdom never required cooperation from the government (or the approval of society, for that matter). It’s as true in the States as it is here, and as true now as it ever was. Thanks for the reminder.
jan c.
Amen!
cherylu
Thank you Melissa. That is a reminder that is desperately needed in the world today.
A HEART SET ON PILGRIMAGE
In South Africa we too fight our battles. The details and logistics might be different, but in the end we are all at exactly the same place and of the same knowledge: We might be in this world but we are not of this world. This is not our home. When we keep our eyes steadfast on Him and our hearts set on living with an eternal perspective, only then can we truly graze in His fields of freedom and hope no matter on which continent we might find ourselves in this world. Thank you for this post!