Turning point of history

Whether kings, politicians, dictators or “only” my boss, my teacher, colleague, doctor or some or other official or clerk in a government institution – they are all (when appropriate and when God wills) ultimately under God's Almighty hand. Water flows as one channels it. People have changed rivers by changing, straightening, redirecting and reducing or even widening them – for whatever reason. Likewise, God will also turn people's hearts according to His plans or due to prayers laid upon our hearts. This world is often complicated and people's hearts a “defiant and despondent thing”. (Jeremiah 17:9-10 “ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”) God can and will also use the evil and the wrong to ultimately serve His good will and be subordinate to Him. God can also, from the crooked paths in this world and our personal existence and goings, make things straightforward, uncomplicated, tangible and meaningful. He does this in accordance with His eternal will and as it is useful and correct. We understandably lack the overview and knowledge of the connections. God doesn't. We are often too bogged down and don't see the forest from the trees. God always sees the big picture. We run and struggle, and are more often than not disappointed due to much futile effort, lost time and invested monies. Why some things just don't seem to work and don't always follow logical traits remain a mystery. It frustrates us.

In Job 36:19 we read the rhetorical question: “Will he esteem thy riches? No, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.” We mostly assume that this is actually of some use. However, the sober truth is that it is rather the opposite. Sometimes we need to simply get annoyed, but does it help? Maybe in the physical sense, to free ourselves from the frustration, and air things? But, whether this secular method of coping with frustration is God's will for us, remains to be seen. God also had to make it clear to Job that this was not the vital point, but rather that one seeks God in faith and prayer. In 1 Chronicles 28:9 the dying David gives his son and successor Solomon the following advice: “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.” God is the Guide of the world and also of our lives. Jesus is also the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) which is closely connected to our lives as Christians. God can always change everything and no man is autonomous or unaffected before God – regardless of who he is. God knows the hearts of all people and guides them, as necessary, like water streams. Hopeless situations don't exist for God – who can resist His will – whether he is a believer or an unbeliever? Everything will be fine.

Jörg Bauer