See it is I

Amid the turmoil of this life how often do we consider that the storms are sent by God and do we understand that he is a God of love in spite of this? We see in Isaiah 45:7 that He brings both prosperity and disaster and that he has even created the destroyer to work havoc (Isaiah 54:16).

I don’t particularly want to be misunderstood about this, although I might be. The devil did (has) fallen and evil does exist but more in the hearts and minds of man than in anything else, surely? “…the heart and mind of man are cunning” writes the psalmist (Psalm 64:6); and even though we fight a spiritual battle, we need to take responsibility for our part.

Looking at the world as it exists today, we see many men who are blameworthy for great acts of repression and evil. We see and hear fragmented reports from journalists who, let’s be frank, have historically been proven to be more than a little self-seeking, but we are assured that the world is in turmoil nonetheless. It would be helpful to hear and see more about what is actually happening in the world in general and I believe it is important that we do so but that’s another story.

“There is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1). Has God established a despotic ruler in Syria? No. Who then did establish him? His countrymen? Himself? What is God’s purpose in the “storm”? He seems to be in the process of tearing his authority away from him, doesn’t he?

I believe that we have to look more closely at the scriptures to make a link between God’s purpose and man’s dominion in the world. In every way, when I look at the scriptures, I find myself lacking. Could the same be true of other people? Is it possible that during coup, after coup, after coup in Syrian history, that someone didn’t obey the ruling authorities; (Romans 13: 1 – Everyone must submit to the governing authorities)? Might the whole country, every desperate citizen, the surrounding area and even the whole world now be suffering from these acts of disobedience, passed down from the heart and mind of man?

I don’t know the history of this conflict well enough to comment on who is actually to blame or what was said around those early corridors of power but we might say that the storm has come to resolve the issue. Whether the issue is resolved or not, we can be sure that we have made this storm ourselves, directly or otherwise.

Are we likely to experience more “storms” of this nature? If we look at the scriptures we can clearly see that we are lending money selfishly, for example, not in any way consistent with what God would have us do. Since God gives us a choice, if we choose unwisely he can and does let these storms come. Not all the time but he can, and he does.