God’s Perspective on Our Troubles
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. Daniel 1:1
To the people of Judah this was a terrible time in their history. They thought Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion was disastrous and they would have hated him. There are always two perspectives to every event that has ever taken place on the earth.
When the early settlers in America pushed their way westward, they ran into a horrifying disaster in the western prairies – Prairie fires which extended for miles. There was no way of escape and therefore meant sure death. However, a way of escape was discovered. They would light a fire around their wagons to form a very large circle. If they remained within that circle, the prairie fire would make its way around them.
The Israelites in Babylon had to find a circle of protection if they were to escape the terrible consequences in a strange land. We all know the accounts of Daniel in the lion’s den and his three friends in the furnace of affliction. Their circle of safety was understanding that there are no accidents with God, that everything has a purpose and is a part of God’s plan.
Yes, God’s people were in a very disastrous situation because of the sin of forgetting God and worshipping other gods. They had been warned and ignored the warnings and there finally came a time when God did what He told them He would do (Deuteronomy 28, 29). The Israelites looked at their plight in one way and God looked at it in another way. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8, 9).
They looked upon their circumstances as hysterical. We look back at their circumstances as being historical, yet God saw it as part of His master plan for the children of Israel.
How do you look at the circumstances that take place in your life, your home and your family? We need to keep in mind that God knows those who belong to Him and those who do not regardless of where they are located and regardless of their circumstances.
Historically, Nebuchadnezzar was a powerful king, being born about 630 B.C. He was the son of Nabopolassar who established the Babylonian Empire. Nabopolassar would have seen Nebuchadnezzar as heir to his throne. The children of Israel saw him as a ruthless warrior, and we must recognize how God saw him. By way of his timing and his position, he was God’s puppet to accomplish God’s purposes for His people.
So how do you look at the circumstances of life — Coronavirus, cancer, death of loved ones, a wicked secular government, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, prairie fires, war, wicked, dangerous nations like Iran, Russia, China, and the list here is endless. Ask yourself this: Is God actually in control? Does the prince and power of the air have a free hand to do all that he wants to do in our world, nation, and our lives (Ephesians 2:2-3)? How do you look at history — Hitler, World War, Vietnam, the 9/11 disaster at the Trade Center and more? Again, the list is endless. Have you ever considered that these and other events were instruments of God, just as was the Babylonian invasion against Israel?
There is much concern about the direction of our nation at this time. We know that there is much corruption in our government and that there is a concerted effort to minimize the influence of Christianity in America. We are indeed living in perilous times (II Timothy 3:1-5).
You already know that God’s plans, purposes, and ways are different from ours (Isaiah 55:8, 9). But just before this text, Isaiah 55:7 reads: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. What do you think God would be willing to do in our homes, churches, and in our nation if we sought the Lord? Except for Daniel and his three friends, we really do not know much about how God’s people responded to their circumstances. Did all of them cry out to God for help? Was there repentance of sin? Were promises to God made relating to what they would do if God came to their aid? If they knew much of the Word of God, they would have known that they would be there for seventy years, long enough for many of them to die in a foreign land and a new generation to be raised up.
Yes, after 70 years, they did return to their land and there was revival, repentance, and a new allegiance to follow God’s ways. What will it take to bring America back to God? You already know that revival starts in the church. You cannot revive something that is dead. There must be some spiritual life for it to be revived. However, when revival is real, the influence of the power of God in the church always spreads into the community and many souls are saved.
In thinking about the church and our nation, consider the two perspectives – ours and God’s. Where must we change to be in line with God’s perspective? How are we to live in a nation that is eliminating God? How did the people of Israel live in a foreign land where the people did not know God? How closely aligned are your ways with God’s ways. There is much to think about here and we should recognize that the book of Daniel gives to us some clues as to how God’s people ought to live in a land where people are in rebellion against God. How often do you pause to consider the difference between God’s perspective and yours?
George Stiekes serves as a Lay Pastor at Bethany Bible Church in Hendersonville, NC. See here for a more complete bio of brother Stiekes extensive ministry. We republish his material by permission.