Bits and pieces of my speech from the Union County National Day of Prayer event were published in the paper. They were not direct quotes, but gave the general idea in a good way. I decided to post the speech in it’s entirety on my blog in case anyone wanted to read it. So, here it is.
As I prayed about what I would say this evening and began to meditate on the passage from 2 Chronicles 7:14 that says “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land”, it became clear to me that we need to focus our lens tonight, not solely on ourselves but also on the one giving the instruction to King Solomon.
In truth, if we don’t understand WHO God is, we will not be motivated to humble ourselves before Him. You see, I’m not certain that we really understand Who we are dealing with. This verse doesn’t call us to humble ourselves to our neighbor (although that may be appropriate at times). We are not called to seek the face of our elected officials (although that may be appropriate at times). Oh, no! We are told to humble ourselves before, pray to and seek the face of God, the Sovereign Creator of the Universe. Yahweh. The One who hung the stars in the sky. The King of all the Earth.
For the next few minutes, I want us to draw up close and see, as best our human minds can, exactly Who we are dealing with as we gather to pray on this National Day of Prayer. In order to do this I want us to listen to a prayer of praise that was offered by Daniel in Daniel chapter 2. READ VERSES 19B – 23A.
This passage gives us a vivid picture of the God who controls our world. The concept that I believe Daniel wants us to understand from this passage is that of the sovereignty of God. We are not dealing with a weak kneed, spineless, 120 pound weakling. The God that Daniel served and the God who still holds the world in His hand is one who has all wisdom and power. With all that is going on today, we may feel as though our world is spinning out of control and no one knows what is going on. Let me assure you, the Sovereign God of the Universe knows exactly what is going on and NOTHING happens that He does not allow. Notice I didn’t say He causes all things to happen, but rather He allows them.
Daniel goes on to tell us that same God sets up kings and deposes them. The book of Daniel contains an astounding amount of prophecy that God spoke through Daniel. Daniel would not live to see all of it fulfilled, but you and I view it through the lens of history. Daniel prophesied the rise and fall four of kingdoms: Babylonian empire, the Medo Persian empire, the Grecian empire and the Roman empire. Daniel didn’t acquire that knowledge by himself. Our Sovereign God knew what was coming and gave Daniel the wisdom and insight to prophesy the hidden things that would take place hundreds of years in the future. Wisdom and power belong to God alone and are His to give and take away.
There is a marvelous passage in the book of Isaiah that illustrates the fact that God is the only one who truly is in control of what goes on in the world. Read Isaiah 40: 21-31. God places the rulers of this world in power and He reduces the rulers of this world to nothing if they are not obedient to His plan. He blows on them and they wither. That, my friends, is power.
Why do you think Hitler’s regime ended? Why do you think Saddam Hussein is no longer in power? They oppressed and mistreated mankind – God’s beloved creation – until God said, “Enough”. Yes, the armies of the world went in and ridded the world of these evil men, but it didn’t happen until God said it was time and appointed the power to men to accomplish it.
As we ponder everything that is going on in our city, our state, our nation and the world, let us not lose hope. It is so easy to lose heart and think that evil is winning, but we must remember that we have a Lord who is in complete control of everything that occurs. Nothing occurs that takes Him by surprise. God never looks at a situation and says, “Wow, that one came out of nowhere.” We serve a God who changes times and seasons, who sets up kings and deposes them. He sees the top side of the tapestry of life, whereas you and I see only the bottom, knotted, ugly side. This is the Lord who calls us to humble ourselves and confess our sins both individually and corporately. This is the God to whom we pray today on this National Day of Prayer. Thank you and may God bless our nation.
