America Trust God
By Linda J. Waiters © October 11, 2008
Financially, I know it seems like “the sky is falling.”1 But I’m here to encourage you and tell you to HOLD ON – your help is on the way! God sees you and He’s already gone before you. Let’s read James 5:1-8 (New King James Version):
Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.[a] 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as[b] in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
Be Patient and Persevering
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
God sees the injustice, but as we go through another presidential election cycle I am also reminded of the passage in 1 Samuel where we learn about the children of Israel wanting their own king like the other neighboring nations. This would, in effect, displace God’s position in their lives similar to how things are for many people today. God allowed it, but as we read below, He also told them what the alternative would be like.
1 Samuel 8:1-20 The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
Rejecting God as the King
1-3When Samuel got to be an old man, he set his sons up as judges in Israel. His firstborn son was named Joel, the name of his second, Abijah. They were assigned duty in Beersheba. But his sons didn’t take after him; they were out for what they could get for themselves, taking bribes, corrupting justice.
4-5 Fed up, all the elders of Israel got together and confronted Samuel at Ramah. They presented their case: “Look, you’re an old man, and your sons aren’t following in your footsteps. Here’s what we want you to do: Appoint a king to rule us, just like everybody else.”
6 When Samuel heard their demand—”Give us a king to rule us!”—he was crushed. How awful! Samuel prayed to God.
7-9 God answered Samuel, “Go ahead and do what they’re asking. They are not rejecting you. They’ve rejected me as their King. From the day I brought them out of Egypt until this very day they’ve been behaving like this, leaving me for other gods. And now they’re doing it to you. So let them have their own way. But warn them of what they’re in for. Tell them the way kings operate, just what they’re likely to get from a king.”
10-18 So Samuel told them, delivered God’s warning to the people who were asking him to give them a king. He said, “This is the way the kind of king you’re talking about operates. He’ll take your sons and make soldiers of them—chariotry, cavalry, infantry, regimented in battalions and squadrons. He’ll put some to forced labor on his farms, plowing and harvesting, and others to making either weapons of war or chariots in which he can ride in luxury. He’ll put your daughters to work as beauticians and waitresses and cooks. He’ll conscript your best fields, vineyards, and orchards and hand them over to his special friends. He’ll tax your harvests and vintage to support his extensive bureaucracy. Your prize workers and best animals he’ll take for his own use. He’ll lay a tax on your flocks and you’ll end up no better than slaves. The day will come when you will cry in desperation because of this king you so much want for yourselves. But don’t expect God to answer.”
19-20 But the people wouldn’t listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We will have a king to rule us! Then we’ll be just like all the other nations. Our king will rule us and lead us and fight our battles.”
It seems like the average American person is suffering a modern day plight similar to that of the children of Israel thanks to people like Bush, Cheney and many others in the upper echelons of our society. The rich reigning supreme at the cost of the little guy by any means necessary seems to be the rich man’s ideology. For example, McCain may have unintentionally let the cat out of the bag when he recently claimed that he was talking about the American working people when he said “the fundamentals of our economy were strong.” One could translate that to mean, “Don’t worry, we still have people working like slaves who we can walk over the backs of to keep getting our money - even if it means pitting one social group against the other.” Regardless of his position though, it is clear that there is a widening divide between the haves and the have-nots. The average person keeps working hard and earning nothing compared to those getting outrageous salaries and bonuses while their job performance continues to diminish. Even after expending so much energy on a “leader” every four years whose life is but a vapor – just like ours.
But did we bring it on ourselves because of our choices?
It’s easy to point the finger at someone else, but there comes a time when you have to be real with yourself before you can turn around and get it right. We cannot delegate “change” in our lives to any other human being. The reality is that people have leaned on man and not God too often, and the results are now devastating us.
Part of the reason is that some people just don’t want to hear about GOD or embrace what He says. And instead of looking for a reason to believe they seem to gravitate toward reasons not to believe. We’ve seen that during this election cycle as a result of the focus on some popular Christian leaders with extreme views, large egos, and substantial character flaws. Consequently, their foundational message of salvation may have been dismissed out-of-hand along with their extreme views. These views and attitudes have added fuel to those who choose not to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the first place. Even the common practice of laying hands on a person to pray for them like the clips we’ve seen of Sarah Palin being prayed for by an African minister in Alaska has come up against very negative reception. It is no wonder that some would be offended about that though because God brought to the light how witchcraft is overcome by the power of the Name and Blood of Jesus. As a result, this publicized information is a death knell to the evil operations of those who practice Satanism, witchcraft, and voodoo in the world. See, no one was supposed to know. Nonetheless, Proverbs 18:19 makes the point: “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.” We have the answer in one hand, but many times our actions take it away with the other hand. Oftentimes, we hinder ourselves from getting God’s message across.
Given that, I am aware that even some of you reading this article will fall into two categories, Believers and Non-Believers of Jesus Christ, and some will hear the Word I’m sharing and others won’t for a variety of reasons. But know this, none of our “opinions” can negate God’s Word. So I will remind some and announce to others that ignorance is a weapon used by Satan to destroy. We learn that in Hosea 4:6 that says: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Fortunately, however, ignorance can be overcome through the Word of God, if you choose to accept it. You have a hand in your destiny.
Furthermore, while we have been caught up with the current financial crisis, pointing fingers, and playing the blame game, I believe we are missing the real deal that’s on hold just under the radar. Our defense is not only down financially but also diplomatically due to misplaced trust.
While we have been leaning on our government to “rule us, lead us, and fight our battles,” concurrently, America’s current lack of vision or foresight has caused us to lose global respect and now the wolves are at bay. We are now wondering around like dazed sheep in the slaughter yard and some of us don’t even know it. For example, I am not hearing anyone emphasizing the fact that Russia is moving bombers and warships into Venezuela, which is right at our back door! (See, Russian Bombers). Or, how Putin is talking trash to an American president and other leaders of the world. What’s up with that?
And then there is Ahmadinejad “warning us” – what does he know?
It seems our “king” has led us out on a limb. But this can all be turned around if we all REPENT and stop the madness!!!
We should never forget what God said in Jeremiah 17:5 (New King James Version):
Thus says the LORD:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the LORD.”
With all that is going on right now, surely one must hear the call for all of us to turn back to the Lord! Not to man - be it a preacher or a president. WE must turn back to GOD! Or, the day could come when we cry out in desperation and God won’t answer. Think about that the next time you say “God Bless America!”
1 The Sky is Falling has been made into countless children’s books, having both Chicken Licken and Henny Penny as main characters.
