A Shrinking God

In the past week it has become abundantly clear that the American church is in a state of panic. We are panicking about the outcome of an election that is still over four months away. We are making predictions as though we have eyes into the future. The sad part of all this is these predictions of doom and gloom are the same ones I’ve heard in the last eight years. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Oswald Chamber once wrote that fear is calculating without God. For some reason, Christians cannot imagine God intervening into the affairs of man, including our elections. It is sad that of all the Founding Fathers who were Christians, it took a non-believer in Benjamin Franklin to remind them of a sovereign God:

“I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid…I therefore beg leave to move—that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service.”

How long has the Christian Right been calculating without God? I have been involved in Republican politics for 36 years and as the time has passed and my walk with the Lord grown, I’ve noticed less reliance on G-O-D and a greater trust in the G-O-P. This should not be:

“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” (Psalm 118:8-9)

My pastor cautions us against allowing fear into our lives, especially our prayer lives. He rightly says that our fears shrink our God. If our God is who we believe Him to be, then what do we have to fear? I believe our fear comes from knowing we have been unfaithful to Him thereby causing us to take matters into our own hands. We believe God is for us, but we doubt that we are for Him:

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

We act as though one person can tear the fabric of our nation, bringing upon us certain ruin. Barack Obama has only done to America what Congress has allowed. Congress has only allowed the president to get away with his tyrannical actions because WE the People have not held our elected representatives accountable. This is true every election where the incumbency election rate is over 90 percent.

I am not going to take any action based on fear. Actions caused by fear rarely work out for the best. There is healthy fear when our physical lives are in danger, but in our everyday lives we should not fear other people. As children of God we must remember that we can be a three-fold cord if we will unite in the power of God. We can be stronger if we choose:

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

Beloved, we need not panic about the future, even the near future. We do not control our destiny. We can shape it somewhat, but our God is sovereign and our King is Jesus.

Instead of acting as though we are subjects of Pharaoh, we need to live a life of liberty, one guaranteed to us not by our Constitution, but by the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we do not, then we are living as though we have a shrinking God.

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2016 David Jeffers

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