Be Silent Before Him

“But the Lord is in His holy temple.  Let all the earth be silent before Him.”

Habakkuk 2:20

Almost daily we see and hear things that make us wonder where our world is headed. Wars and rumors of war. Evil seems to be winning, but God is still on His throne and ultimately He will set all things right. In the meantime we wait patiently for His vindication. The more convinced we are of God's sovereignty and authority, the more apt we are to sit silently. And to the one who sits silently, God speaks.

Obey God First

"But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt 

had commanded them, but let the boys live."

Exodus 1:17

Pharaoh wanted to destroy the Israelites, and so he tried to intimidate the Hebrew midwives into killing the newborn male babies that they helped deliver. However, the midwives revered God. Their faith in Him outweighed their fear of Pharaoh and they let the baby boys live. The Hebrew population continued to grow mightily, despite Pharaoh's attempts to annihilate it. God decides who lives and who dies, and He will use faithful followers like the midwives to accomplish His purpose and bring Him glory. The midwives obeyed God instead of the civil government, and out of their obedience the Messianic line was preserved. "Though generally we are called to obey the government and honor rulers (Romans 13:1-5), we are never called to put government in the place of God, and if the government tells us to do something against God's will, we are to obey God first." (David Guzik)

Submitting to God's Sovereignty

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? 

You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 

Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'” 

James 4:14-15

After several days of temperatures near 70 degrees, we awoke one morning this week to a blanket of snow on the ground. The unexpected snowfall reminded me that we aren't the ones in control of the weather, or any other part of life. We are not in control of the future, we are not sovereign. But the Lord is. We are wise to humbly make plans with the caveat that our plans will come to fruition only if it is the Lord's will. When we plan in submission to His sovereignty we are never disappointed. "Napoleon Bonaparte was a military genius, but his pride led to his downfall. He was about to invade Russia, but a friend tried to dissuade him. When it became apparent that Napoleon would not be budged, the friend shared the familiar proverb, 'Man proposes, God disposes.' Napoleon angrily snapped back, 'I dispose as well as propose.' A Christian upon hearing this remark said, 'I set that down as the turning point of Bonaparte’s fortunes. God will not suffer a creature with impunity to usurp His prerogative.' Sure enough, Napoleon’s invasion of Russia was the beginning of his downfall" (Steven J. Cole quoting from Harold Fickett, Faith that Works [G/L Regal Books], p. 134)."

Why?

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive."

Genesis 50:20

It's amazing that Joseph could say "God meant it for good" after all he'd been through. Kidnapped, sold into slavery, falsely accused, imprisoned. He understood God's sovereignty and the faith it required to submit to it. What happened to Joseph paved the way for the salvation of his people. As we face trials in our lives that leave us asking "why", we can look to Joseph for encouragement. We may not see the answer in our lifetime, but we can rest assured that the same God who redeemed the bad in Joseph's life, will do the same in ours.

The Sovereignty of God

"With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please." Jeremiah 27:5

The Lord God is sovereign. But He is also merciful, loving and full of grace. Although we may not always understand His ways, the more we come to know Him through His word, the more we begin to trust His sovereignty. And the longer we walk with Him, the more confident we are that He knows what is best.