Growing up there was a daily soap opera which was called “As the World Turns”. Of course, in comparison to today, the world was spinning a lot slower. OK, I know the world spins at a particular rate in order for everything to work right, but you get the idea. The thing that determined the speed of life then was much slower than today. Well, they were faster than in Old Testament times but again you get the idea.
As the world turns today, seems to be almost faster than we can handle. Buy a computer, cell phone, tablet and they are out of date from the technical perspective even before you power it up. Information and current events are instantaneously known. Everywhere you go people are able to take a picture and transmit it anywhere in a few finger taps.
We are all currently watching a barbaric invasion of a sovereign nation by another on our phones, computers, and home television. These are not Hollywood re-enactments, they are live or recorded and sent within minutes. One person made the decision to invade with the intention to control another country. Forty three plus million people, as reported by World Population Review, are being attacked and pummeled in this illegitimate campaign attacking the people of Ukraine.
I am and most, if not all, who read this today are not in a position to have the knowledge of what we should do. However, we all think that we probably are not doing what we should do and believe we should do something else. So as the world turns we wait and watch to see what the day holds.
Charles Spurgeon said “God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”
This particular of his quotes is one of, if not my favorite. It fits into life in every regard. No matter what we are seeing or involved in these words remind us when we don’t see or even think God is there, trust His heart.
I have posted this past week on my social media accounts, and said to others when I have been with them, that I am praying for the situation in Ukraine. Actually, I have been and continue to pray for God to intervene. I have asked specifically in two ways. First, to cause the soldiers representing Russia to simply refuse to fight this unjust invasion. Just sit down, surrender, or return home. It has been reported that some are actually sabotaging their equipment in order to slow or halt their progress. You may have seen and even heard about the Russian soldier who was texting his mother. He admitted to her he had been sent into Ukraine and that he wanted to return home. It was reported that within a few minutes of that text, he was killed in the battle. He wasn't there because he believed it was the right thing to do. He was there because of Vladimir Putin. The soldier was probably a conscript. He was drafted into the army and ordered to go. Secondly, the Lord would intervene in divine power and destroy the Russian troops. I have been reading in the Old Testament and there are many accounts of God intervening and destroying the enemies of His children. Simply, my prayer is that God makes a way to halt this terrible invasion of Ukraine.
If it were not Ukraine, there are certainly many other things today that can be seen as the world turns. So many things are happening each day. Inflation, gas prices, interest rates, supply chain shortages, crime and the revolving door of justice. A political landscape that is just impossible to even understand. All of these and more have been going on for years but what happened that has caused us to see so many of these in ways we had never before?
Earlier today I was in a meeting and we were discussing how we might move forward in a particular area. As we discussed to pros and the cons, we were able to make clear distinctions but would we be heading in a direction that later we might determine was not the right way to go. Let's be clear not all decisions are easy to make. Not all decisions outcomes are known. It is not until time has passed and the results have come to fruition that we know whether it was the right or wrong decision.
As I sat there, I was reminded of several times in my ministry where decisions had to be made. Decisions are made and they rely on a basis for the decision. Thus, from a Christian perspective, the Bible becomes the basis for our decisions. That does not mean that the basis of every decision is seen in Scripture. However, the basis of every decision is covered by Scripture. So when making that decision, it is important that if you are going to error then error on the side of caution. Therefore, we choose to make the decision that might later have resulted in something unintentional yet one that had consequences. Later, I received a call from another person who was at the meeting. They thanked me for sharing this and that it will be something that we can later know that if we errored we did so on the side of caution.
So, as the world turns today, be careful as to how you react or respond to the things that are occurring. You may have to make a decision today. The decision should be one that if you errored you did so on the side of caution.
In God's Grace,
Elbert Nasworthy