God and War
“I come from a country of approximately 18 million people, a country that lies between the two most powerful nations on the face of this earth: on the north, Russia; on the south, the United States of America. If war ever breaks out between the two powerful nations their missiles will have to pass right over Canada. The very thought makes us conscious of the fact that we are living in dangerous times. Perhaps we never have lived in such dangerous times as today. We all realize that we are approaching the end of the age, that it can’t be very long now until this dispensation will have passed into history.
“If you were to ask me the most important sign of the times in regard to the end of the age, I would turn to the Gospel according to Matthew.
“Look at that first statement: ‘Wars and rumors of wars.’ I suppose almost everyone knows that the phrase ‘rumors of wars’ simply means talk about wars. I’ve been proclaiming the message of God’s salvation for the last fifty years, but I have never known so much talk about war as we hear today. I’m reminded of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ stated in unmistakable le terms that one of the signs of the approaching end of the age would be talk about war.”
– An excerpt from a sermon by Dr. Oswald J. Smith preached in 1959.
Solomon wisely states in Ecc. 1:9- “That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.”
What is not new?
War. Tyrants and power-hungry leaders. The End of the World
We live in a sin-cursed world, led by sinful leaders driven by greed and selfish desires.
We live in a world ruled by the Prince of the Power of the air, the father of lies who deceives and is continually deceiving.He will one-day whisper into the ears of kings (Rev 16:13-14) and possibly is doing the same today. The dreadful duo of man’s sinful nature and Satanic forces will lead to wars and rumors of wars.
The good news is these are not the only “players” on the world stage. We have a God who never sleeps or slumbers. We have a God who is active among the affairs of men. We have a God who is in control.
What’s my point? War is awful. The threat of war is worse. The thoughts of a world war are devastating.
How do we find comfort in the chaos? Where is His Throne in the Thunderings of War?
I. The Nations are nothing to Him
Isa. 40:15- “Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.”
Job 41:11 “…Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine!”
Look at that picture frame or item in your room that has some dust on it. Now go over to that item and wipe the dust off. Take a medicine dropper and fill it with water. Now take that dropper and carefully drop one drop of water in a 5-gallon bucket. These are just two small examples of how God sees these nations that cause us fear and panic.
Russia, China, and yes, even the United States is nothing in comparison to the greatness of our God. With the flick of His finger, He could wipe a nation off the map. With one slight exhale he could dissolve a landmass.
How great is our God!
II. The King’s heart is in his hands
Prov. 21:1- “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”
God hardened Pharaoh’s heart against Israel and he softened the heart of Cyrus. God can use any man currently in leadership to accomplish His purposes. In a current situation like we are seeing our tendency is to pray for Zelensky and not Putin. Paul tells Timothy to pray for those who ruled over him. That was far from a conservative government. So why pray? Because God is not limited to moving in the heart of a leader whether he is a republican, democrat, or a crazy egotistic maniac.
III. He is working everything according to His will
Sometimes I wish I knew exactly what the Lord was doing, other times I am thankful I do not. No matter our eschatological view or premise God is working His plan to establish His kingdom on this earth.
I remember hearing pastors preach that the battle of Armageddon would be World War III. This was a popular theory especially considering the current generation of believers believed the Rapture would come before another war could happen as those in the past. There is no promise we will not face hard times or even WWIII before Jesus comes.
Pastor, why would you say that? Why would God allow my children to grow up in such terrible times? God has allowed you and your children to grow up in the most wonderful times according to His will. These are the times appointed for you to be in. God wanted you here at this time to accomplish his purpose and plan. We need to rejoice that God chose us to be here for such a time as this and get to His work while we still have time!
Treg Spicer is pastor of Faith Baptist Church – Morgantown, WV. Follow his blog here. We republish his articles by permission.