Let’s talk about God. More often than not, when tragedy strikes, as it did for the nation of Israel just about a month ago, our thoughts turn to God, and why would He let such devastating circumstances happen. I for one do not claim to have a corner on the “God” market, or even a majority of “God” stock, but I do know, from the Scriptures three things that are true about God.
The first thing I know about God is that He is omniscient. That simply means that He knows everything. Literally, He is “all-knowing.” There is nothing that ever happens anywhere in the world that God does not know about. He is never surprised by anything or caught off guard. Nothing which happens today or tomorrow will surprise Him. He knew that Hamas would attack Israel. He also knew that the growing tide around the world is against His own chosen people. There is nothing that you or I could ever do to catch Him blind-sided.
The second truth about God that we need to know and understand is that He is not only omniscient, but He is also omnipotent. By omnipotent, I mean that God is “all-powerful.” That means that God can do anything. There is nothing that is too great for Him to do. There is no mountain He cannot climb, no ocean He cannot swim. There is no wall He cannot penetrate, no language He cannot understand, and no obstacle He cannot overcome. In other words, God is powerful enough to eliminate the bad things from our lives, to protect us from the most prevailing of enemies. If He so chose to do so, God could eliminate all the bad “stuff” from our lives.
That leads to a very valid and a very serious question: If God is omniscient and therefore knows everything, including what is going to happen to us today, and if God is omnipotent and therefore is powerful enough to change the course of human history in the blink of an eye, then why do bad things still happen? Why do diseases still seem to attack even the godliest of people? Why do nations or enemies of nations (a la Hamas) still aspire to eliminate other nations (like Israel)? Why does it seem that evil is continuing to prevail? If God is so knowledgeable and also so powerful, why do bad things still happen when, if those be true, He could eliminate them easily?
The third truth about God that we need to know is that God is love. He loves us with a never-ending, never-diminishing love that no word in our language (or any other for that matter) can come close to describing. He has our best interests at heart.
I know this is a hard concept to grasp – it is very hard for me to understand also – but God is still on the throne. His love for us occasionally allows bad (from our perspective) things to come into our lives, and even into the lives of His own chosen people. Just as a loving parent would allow her children to experience some discomfort in order to teach them not to go through those things again, God really does have our best interests at heart!
That is a very difficult concept to understand, especially when we consistently go through tragic and traumatic events which seem to consume our attention and cause us to blame God for life rather than trust God in the midst of life.
But just the other day, I cam across a prayer that helps me to gain a proper perspective on the whole situation in Israel right now, a prayer that acknowledges who God is and what He is doing, and who we are and how little we know.
It goes like this:
Our Father and our God,
You are mighty. In situations where we see the terrible brokenness of sin and evil, we trust in Your strength and power to redeem and restore. We come before You seeking divine intervention in the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine, especially in light of the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7 and their aftermath.
We ask You to bring comfort and healing to all those affected, particularly those who suffered loss and pain due to these attacks as well as innocent and vulnerable people, Palestinians and Israelis, who will further suffer due to the escalation in fighting.
Lord Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace, and we look to You to bring reconciliation to this situation. Help all who reside in the region work toward a just and lasting resolution, with a commitment to protecting all people. Lord, we acknowledge that this region holds great significance in Your Word, and we lament the conflict and tension that has plagued the Holy Land for generations. In Your mercy, soften hearts and minds so that many will receive the gospel and submit themselves to You.
We pray that You would affirm and uplift all who follow You, giving assurance of Your presence. Use them as agents of Your grace and mercy to display the love Christ to all in their midst as light in a dark time.
Holy Spirit, bring conviction and transformation to the hearts of those who promote violence and hatred. Help them see the value of every human life and the importance of pursuing peace and flourishing for all people. In Your grace, may they turn away from the path of sin and destruction.
God, we trust in Your sovereignty and plan for this world. We humbly bring all of this to You, knowing that Your ways are higher than our ways, and Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We long for the day when swords are beaten into plowshares, so we pray for Your kingdom to come and Your will to be done through the crucified and risen King Jesus, the Messiah.
Amen.
I wonder, will you pray this prayer with me?
God bless…
Chuck Tabor is a regular columnist for this newspaper and a former pastor in the area. He may be reached at [email protected].
