Worldly Problems, Worldly Solutions?

Good Saturday morning! Ah, Saturday, for many of us a day away from work, a chance to get some things done around the house, go shopping for the family needs, or perhaps, lay around in our skivvies and let the world go on without us for a bit. This morning, I listened to some worldly advice on how to fix some worldly problems. But is this the best solution to fix what ails the world's nations? There is the Bible verse that begins, "If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves..." (2 Chron 7:14) We know that one from many a sermon, and we know that many lands need the Lord's healing right now. But there is another passage that says something similar about the Lord's power over the nations. "The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it. (Jer 18:7-10) Hmm, let's see, who is in charge of the fate of nations?

I have grown weary of trying to solve my own problems by applying what I have learned in the world. Why should I not also grow weary of trying to solve our nation's problems through worldly advice? First, the Bible says that God is in charge of our nation's rising and falling, and I have the example of how poorly worldly solutions have worked in my own life. Without Christ in my life, nothing I do will succeed. It would be tempting to turn that around and say that with Christ in my life, everything I do will succeed, but that is not quite right either. In Christ, I still seek for the way that He would have me to go. To paraphrase Paul: every path in life is permitted me, but not every path is the right one for me to follow.

In following Christ, should we join a big company, a small company, work for the government, or work on our own (I call it working for God directly)? The answer is a resounding "Yes!". Each of us has an unique path to follow that Christ will lead us on. Your path is not my path. We all follow Christ toward sanctification, but to us those paths look different in many ways. To God, the paths may all look the same. We don't know, because we cannot see from God's omniscient viewpoint. Some may marry early, and others late, and still others not at all. Some have many children, other couples few or even none in their union. Here's the one that can cause some strife: some may be called to that highly compensated CEO job, and others to the minimum wage living. Yes, the key is to find God's place for you in this life, and to remember of course that God is not judging anyone on the size of his or her paycheck. That widow with the two mites couldn't even buy a haircut these days, but she might have a prominent place in Heaven.

Praise God for His Way!
Bucky