Two Things to Remember Right Now

“To the one who delights in the sovereignty of God the clouds not only have a ‘silver lining’ but they are silver all through, the darkness only serving to offset the light!” – A.W. Pink

Are you hurting today?

Are you tear-stained and heart-sick?

Does worry linger in your soul and fear reign in your thoughts?

Does life and people and circumstances seem hopeless?

There’s a sense that things are pressing in and blowing out at the same time. Our world has never been bigger, and yet, it has never been smaller. Global time and distance has shrunk, and in an instant darkness and hate, fear and cruelty are upfront, close … personal.

Mornings come and anger, tears, and fear possess us. Our mind races with a million questions:

What is happening, where are we heading, what are we doing to each other? Why are there so many senseless, barbaric acts?

God, why is hatred winning?

Our hearts and minds overflow with whys and whats and wheres. We’re frantic for peace – for understanding. God, put this chaos and pain away from us. Questions mount and no easy answers satisfy.

Desperation sets in, doesn’t it? We’re afraid of how much this is all going to hurt, of how much we’ll have to endure before His Light comes again.

But this is the time, when anxiety is high and the hatred we see outside starts to make a home inside, that we must remember two things:

1. God Is On The Throne

At no other time in history have we been more of a SEEING people. Almost every aspect of communication is made for our eyes. We see our social media feeds, we see the TV, we see updates on our phones, tablets, and so on.

All this “seeing” tends to make weak our faith and little-by-little we start to doubt the Sovereignty of God. We’re sight walkers, not faith walkers. We forget He is on the throne, that He’s present and in control. We act and respond as if we never knew His saving power.

We must shut our eyes and exercise our faith.

“Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” (1 Chronicles 29:11)

There’s on more thing to remember. One more thing for these troubling times …

2. God Is On The Throne

It’s no mistake. God is on the throne, and well … He is ON the throne.

One speaks of the confidence and comfort we have in His Sovereignty, and the other speaks of how we must respond – to Him and this world because He IS Sovereign.

Now more than ever, we must embrace heavenly standards more than earthly ones. Where the Sovereignty, the power, and the God-ness of God holds sway over our actions, our thoughts, and our conversations, simply because He is God.

It’s where we yield in obedience, not because we understand, but because we are willing to say, “Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.” (Matthew 11:26)

It’s where we silence our murmurings and complaints and say, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.” (1 Samuel 3:18)

It’s where we lay down our self-willed plans and say, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth … Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.” (Luke 10:21)

It’s where we worship His greatness and goodness, and celebrate that He is our Father, we are His children and He calls us to a heavenly standard – a holy standard, regardless of what we face down here.

God is on the throne. He is the power that works for the good of those who love Him, and the power that helps us fearfully say:

“God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15-16)