I sat in the small coffee shop
reading the morning paper. My attention was immediately drawn to a headline
that caught my eye. A well-known former public figure with clout had just come
out with his book—one proclaiming the news that there was no sovereign God. The
review presented it, without even questioning such a belief, as if it were
indeed the truth and that this man of great reputation had all the answers on
whether or not there was a sovereign God.
I put the paper down on the
table, folded it and pretended that I hadn’t read it. I had once been all too
familiar with a life with no sovereign God—nightmarish without His hope and
lonely without His love.
Having been a former psychic and
New Ager sold out to “higher consciousness” and “evolving” in my earnestness to
make sense of the universe, I had stupidly bypassed the very Creator of the
universe—Almighty God—and lived a life of emptiness and darkness.
For me, it took a Damascus Road
face-to-face encounter with the Lord to stop me in my tracks—bringing me back
to Him and on a journey to becoming His minister. This morning over this
newspaper book review that broke the news of there being no sovereign God, I
made a fist and thumped the table.
Now this was making me angry!
My first inclination was to
attack this guy with his smug proclamation about “no sovereign God.” I
privately took my anger to the Lord in a prayer—as I did, my fist uncurled and
relaxed and I cupped by hands in my lap, like a kid in church.
A curious thing began to happen
to me. Instead of feeling anger at the guy, I began to feel a great sadness
come over me. I felt sad for how I had once been—alone without a sovereign God.
I felt sad for this guy and for all the people who were barely hanging on in
this world without knowing there is a sovereign God to love them, to protect
them, to give them daily hope and help.
I came away from my private
prayer, aware that this man had
not failed us believers with his attempt to teach us that there was no
sovereign God, but rather perhaps we as believers—being Christ’s
ambassadors—had somehow failed him (see 2
Corinthians 5:20).
The tragedy was not that the article or book was published. After all
this is a free country. We can publish what we believe. The tragedy lay in the
fact that here was a life void of
knowing what life could be through
Jesus, the One who overcame the world (see
John 16:33)—so that we could face it and live it as “more than conquerors
through Him who loved us” (see Romans 8:37).
Perhaps as believers you and I should take it as a sign from
the Lord: When we hear of someone calling out the “bad news” of there being no
sovereign God, there in our face is bold evidence that there is work yet to be
done—a work of love to spread the Good News of our risen and sovereign Lord
Jesus.
We are believers and followers of the risen Savior, Jesus
Christ. That means that we not only pray for the lost, the discouraged and the
lonely, but we walk in love for those who desperately need a Savior and who so
deeply need to feel His ever-abiding love.
When they try to tell us there is no sovereign God, show
them the evidence of a life forever transformed by the only living God whose
unconditional, unrelenting love is so real and powerful that it penetrates the
deepest part of a soul, and with it brings forgiveness and healing to the most
damaged of vessels.
When they try to tell us there is no sovereign God, let’s
show them the evidence of our own changed lives and the hope we have to face
the future with determination and not despair, love and not hate, faith and not
fear. Let’s show them Jesus.
PRAYER POWER FOR THE WEEK OF 5/30/2011
This week as the nation takes time to honor those who have
served and given their lives for our freedom, let’s also remember those
currently serving in the military, away from home and their families. Thank God
for His continued mercy on us and pray for repentance and revival to flood our
streets and airways. Pray for those who have lost everything, including loved
ones, in the recent high winds and tornadoes, and ask God to use you as His
ambassador to share His love, comfort and message of reconciliation. Continue
to pray that God would give President Obama and his team wisdom in making
decisions affecting Israel and the world. Join others to fast and pray that our
nation would recognize its need for God and turn back to Him. Pray for a
harvest of souls in these perilous days. 2 Cor. 5:20; Rom. 8:37; John 16:33
To enrich your prayer
life and learn how to strategically pray with power by using appropriate
scriptures, we recommend the following sources by Apostle John Eckhardt: Prayers that Rout Demons, Prayers that Bring Healing, Prayers that Release Heaven on Earth and Prayers that Break
Curses. To order any or all of these click here.
Bill Wiese 
Paul McGuire 
