Our world is suffering from a crisis of authority. The grown-ups in charge seem to be either incompetent or evil or both. Bankers and traders so ruined the world’s financial system that economists still aren’t sure how to fix it. Leaders of governments have become politicians, delivering long-term pain for short-term gain in order to win enough votes and stay in office.
Who can we trust? Scientists? Those impartial researchers were caught cooking the books on climate change. The church? Pastors cheat on their wives, say they’re sorry, and simply move on to another church. Our parents? Their generation has saddled us with so much debt that our financial future looks bleak.
It’s easy to become cynical, to angrily rebel against those who are ruining our future. After all, they have it coming, right? You might think, We should organize, using the power of the Internet and the ballot box to demand competent and moral leadership. But if we’re not careful, our anti-authoritarian attitudes can harden into anarchy, with each of us looking out only for ourselves and damning everyone else. And isn’t that how we got into this mess?
The key to avoiding anarchy is to place our trust in God rather than ourselves. If we believe that God remains on His throne, then “we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea” (Psalm 46:2). Our sovereign God calms the waters so that “the sea and everything in it shout His praise!” (Psalm 96:11).
Please don’t get me wrong. We must hold our leaders accountable. But let’s act from faith rather than fear. If “the God of Israel is our fortress” (Psalm 46:7), then even when our “nations are in chaos” (Psalm 46:6) we can “be still, and know that [He is] God!” (Psalm 46:10).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 1 Samuel 10:1-27
More:
Read Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Timothy 2:1-7 to learn how Christians should respond to authority.
Next:
Why is even a bad government better than anarchy or no government at all? How does our faith in God give us hope for the future and enable us to avoid falling into the trap of desperation and despair?
cricket41 on March 24, 2011 at 6:05 am
Thank you for posting this. At times I need to be reminded that bottom line is that no matter what God is in control. I also need to remind myself that my strength comes from the Lord (not me) left up to my own devices I would be a total waste. Things in the world are ugly and scarey, but what can I do to change it? seriously what can I do? God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Thank you Mr. Mike Wittmer, and all of you wonderful people in here who share….
lindagma on March 24, 2011 at 6:23 am
Amen!
dabac on March 24, 2011 at 6:21 am
And we should always remember to pray for our leaders – 1 Tim 2
mike wittmer on March 24, 2011 at 7:16 am
Good reminder, dabac. And cricket41, my family read the story last night where Moses lost his temper and struck the rock, and God said he would not enter the Promised Land because he had not trusted the Lord. It hit me that I strike out in anger and lose my temper when I don’t trust God. It’s very easy to do, as Moses learned, but I really need to lift my eyes higher.
eppistle on March 24, 2011 at 7:46 am
As Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and the enemy is us.” It’s not so much power that corrupts, but sin that corrupts power. Since we’re all sinners, no matter who is put into power ultimately can abuse that power, for “the heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked.” So when it comes to trust, ultimately the best advice comes on one side of the coin. It’s only in God we can trust and those who fear Him.
will77 on March 24, 2011 at 9:27 am
This is a verese I often meditate on during these times
Isaiah 46:10 (New King James Version)
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
God is in control
daisymarygoldr on March 24, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Who do we trust anymore is exactly what crossed my mind this morning when I read an AP news report on a Pastor’s book. My immediate response to that news article titled: “Who’s in hell? …” was: of course it is Rob Bell. I did repent right away and asked God to forgive my cynical spirit.
So, who do we trust when the very church leaders we look up to for guidance, lead us away from God’s tested truths? It is very scary when the ones we trust—turn out to be wolves in sheep’s clothing. I can only trust God and “be still” to know that “they’re not getting by with anything. They’ll pay for it in the end.” (2 Cor 11:13-15 The Message)
mike wittmer on March 24, 2011 at 7:04 pm
daisymarygoldr:
I appreciate your sensitivity about having a critical spirit. That was a great catch you made this morning. At the same time, don’t ever confuse a critical spirit with appropriate critique. There is a necessary place to analyze words and evaluate our beliefs so that we keep the faith. I’m sure you know this, but I just wanted to say a word for the other side!
jeff olson on March 25, 2011 at 8:35 am
Mike, you are right on…We need to guard against and repent of condemning people, but we also need to be like the Bereans who diligently examined the message they heard to see if it squared with the truth of Scripture (Acts 17:11).