07/09/09

Can We Know the Mind, Heart, Plans and Purposes of God?

I must admit my dislike with many of things I have seen on the news lately. It appears that things are going horribly wrong with U.S. economy, and the world economy. Nations are in upheaval, violence is causing chaos and the threat of new wars is imminent. It would be quite easy to blame the US president, Congress, rulers of foreign countries, human nature, etc. But as Christians, we are commanded to pray for our leaders and to respect those that have been put in office under God's authority. 

Romans 13:1: Each person must submit themself to the governing authorities (rulers), for there is no authority (in any land) except the authority that God has established. God has established all authorities that exists.

This morning I was watching a national news channel, and God spoke to my heart about how He already has the hearts of dedicated Christians. As such, those that are Christians should not be unhappy with what is going in the world. But, that does not mean that we are to turn a blind eye to it and deny that it is occurring.

Sometimes in our arrogance (yes, I wrote the "A" word), we think that God is supposed do things that WE think are correct, particularly they we can rationalize with the Word of God. Not a one of us can know the heart, plans AND purpose of God beforehand. But, if we are not careful, we presume that we know the mind of God because we have a heart FOR God, and we know the Word. But, we have to question whether we have a right to feel this way even when we can rationalize our thoughts and feelings.

Romans 13:2: As a consequence, anyone who rebels against the authority that God has given is rebelling against the authority that God has instituted, and anyone who does so will bring judgment upon themselves.

So, we should be asking  - did God purpose the current state of the world? What if the recent events are part of His plans and ultimately serve His purposes? What if He is not answering our calls to change the current state of the world because He has purposed this situation to turn the hearts of men who are not yet committed to Him, to seek after Him. Maybe this current state of the world has nothing to do with us who are already committed to Him and His service? What if the current state of the world it is all about God touching the hearts of those who are lost, those who chose to idolize men, money or their own interests over Him? And, let's not forget those who are searching for fulfillment in other people or things instead of seeking the love of God? 

What if the current world situation is purposed for Him, and has nothing to do with current believers? What if it's all about all of the ones that have not committed their lives to Him, YET? God already has the hearts of devout Christians - now He wants the hearts of those who do not know Him. He loves and cares for all of us and at one point WE had not given our hearts to Him. At some point in our lives, each of His devout Christians did not know the love of God and had not chosen to follow Him. Were we not worth of His love in His eyes at that time? And, how did each of us come to know and love Him? Was it at a time when all was going right in our lives and we had total satisfaction in something besides Him? Not likely! Now we know that only He can bring true happiness, love, peace, joy, fullment, etc. Most often, we seek after God and turn our hearts to Him when all of the things and people we had put our faith in failed us, and we can be found clinging to the hem of His garment looking for peace.

What if the current state of the world is purposed by God and planned to turn the hearts of men to Him?

1 Kings 18:37: Answer me, please O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back to you again."