I didn't want to add anything to all the war rhetoric until I had something important to say. The last few weeks that important point has come to the foreground, and I've been sorting out how to write it so that you will sense the hope and encouragement I feel.
The Pastor at my current church used an illustration recently, of a passenger's ride in an airplane. You only have a small window on the side, and you may not be the one closest to it. All you can tell is from what you feel and what you see out that window. You may not know why you wait and wait so long on the runway, or what that thump under the plane is after take-off. You may worry about times when you think the plane is stalled in mid-air, or slowing down, or bucking through air pockets and turbulence. However, through it all, the one at the controls can see the big picture. The pilot knows what he is doing and why.
In the same way, we need to trust God to be on His Throne, and to be able to see the whole picture.
And He does. God sees all and knows the minds of ALL the individuals on earth. He knows all history of time from the beginning to the end. And He has power to supersede His laws or overturn any nation and army with a word.
If we study His book, the Bible, we'll see that there have been many records of when He allowed or raised up one nation to punish another that had gone astray from His commandments, by attacking them in war. Other records indicate that when innocent nations were attacked they could respond with singing praises to God, and be delivered by divine intervention.
There is a pattern there, giving us a perspective, or a peek through God's Big Picture Window, for the current world situation.
There's prophecies too, on the verge of being fulfilled. We live in exciting times Our lifetime is not in a dull, boring block of history. We shall see some fantastic changes before our eyes.
It is, of course, hard not to take sides in this attack on Iraq by the US-led coalition. But I try my best not to do that, for it can quickly narrow my view, or take away the big picture scenes.
That's not to say my heart doesn't ache for those who have sons and daughters in the thick of the battle, or those like our Iraqi refugee family in our church They have family members still living in Baghdad, and are exhausted with grieving over news of deaths in the family over the past number of years. Also ones who tried to escape and were captured and sent back.
If we believe God, we have an important role to play as intercessors for the sufferers and the soldiers, and the bereaved. Our earnest, fervent prayers can accomplish much! Let's participate.
Because, when I peek through God's Big Picture window I see that the next huge event on His agenda is the Rapture of those who believe and are watching and waiting as eagerly as a bride for her groom. Now that event is going to create a world-wide stir!
Naturally, those left will try to explain it away. I hope and pray for those who will seek out the truth, that they'll choose to bravely trust God despite very deliberate efforts to wipe them out.
Those left behind will have plenty of war-drama but it will be the scary movie type where people will shriek for death so they can stop suffering. So they think.
But then after seven years of nth degree terrors, Christ will return with His Bride, the Church, (after their wedding feast love-in), to reign over the whole earth for a thousand years of peace, long life, and happiness. We'll finally experience life on earth as it was meant to be! We'll see what life without wars, or even any interpersonal conflicts is like.
Boggles the mind, doesn't it?
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