♫ We like to take the blessing from You; shall we not take the trouble too?
You are working all things out! ♫
We like to take prosperity; shall we not take the suffering?
You are working all things out.
Holy are you Lord; even in the storm be glorified. ♫ (Shane and Shane)

So many emotions surround me in light of the recent healthcare reform debate and vote. As an extremely blessed citizen of a thriving nation, who has enjoyed the benefits of being born an American, I am currently faced with prospect of a more dismal future for this nation that I have loved and proudly hailed as great. For me, it’s not so much because of the outcome of the recent vote, but because of the underlying message that it clearly and definitively speaks about our present leadership and the direction we are heading as a nation.
I will be honest. I am unsettled a bit, as I seek for scripture to influence and direct my attitudes toward the current trends in our beloved country. I remember in the not-so-distant past being appalled at those who sarcastically made statements about leaving this country because of administrative policies or statements or beliefs in which they disagreed. I am aware that even as I feel so very disappointed and discouraged by our lawmakers’ decisions, others are elated and excited about the future. How can we be so divided as a nation about something as important as the health care of our people? I do not have the answer to that question.

But after the recent study of Job, I am again reminded that I don’t need to have the answer to that question. What I do need is to know that God is on His throne. He reigns from there, even now … today. He was there on Sunday, when the vote took place. Many of His people were praying. Even while His Church gathered and cried out to Him, the vote took place, and many of us feel that we lost the vote. (To me, the even bigger issue than health care reform was the huge lack of concern, through the vote, for the life of the unborn!) So what is next for those who are anxious, wary of the future, and even for some who are afraid?

The Psalmist, speaking for the LORD, says in chapter 46: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” In chapter 56 he reminds himself: “In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? And again he reminds all of us: “Trust in Him [God] at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. (Pm 62:7-8) In his book Trusting God, Jerry Bridges says that often it’s more difficult to trust God than to obey Him. I agree with him that the moral will of God, given in the Bible, is rational and reasonable to most Christ followers. But the circumstances in which we must TRUST God often appear irrational and inexplicable. Of course, in more personal situations, this is even more difficult.

So here I find myself, early in the spring of 2010, searching for a way to trust my God – the Creator, the Sustainer, and the RULER of all of the nations. I do not know what He is doing with our nation. It is a little scary to think that He just might allow us to have what we “want” as a nation. Maybe He will finally choose to let us fall …. And even fail. We are rich in so many ways. We are free to do so many things. We are proud of our greatness. Yet we have lost what, I believe, was the understanding of our forefathers that it’s a good thing to be “one nation under God” (the God of the Bible). I’m sad we’ve come to this place in our country, but I’m also moving into the future with faith. GOD IS IN CONTROL and He IS working all things out for His glory and for the good of those who are called according to HIS purpose(s). Thankfully, that includes me!

So I choose to say with the Psalmist “My salvation and my honor depend on God.” What happened on Sunday affects me temporarily. I think of the many who have suffered throughout the world for years because of corrupt governments. The future may be bleak for our country, but as a child of THE King, my future is full of HOPE. I pray that I will continue to spread the Hope that is within me and that many more in our nation will come to worship Him before it’s too late. Because one day, every single knee – every US senator, every athlete, every US president, every single mom, every national leader, every housewife, every evil dictator, every child, every congressman, every movie star, every pastor – will bow and every tongue will confess that HE IS LORD to the glory of God our Father!!

Lord, You are working all things out.
Holy are you Lord; even in the storm be glorified.