After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, in order that the wind might not blow upon the earth, upon the sea, or upon any tree. Rev. 7:1.
Our text affirms God's ability to exempt people from judgment. He is able to hold back destructive winds and preserve His people in any circumstance. Not a deist God, who wound up the universe like a clock and then went on vacation, He is intimately concerned about His people and arranges for their protection.
The heavy shelling that occurred some time ago in Brazzaville, central Africa, demonstrated His ability to intervene. The bombardment ruined most of the large stores and hotels. Many Christians and others crowded into the large church building, and thought everything around it was destroyed, the structure itself remained undamaged.
But life is not always that simple. What about the many situations in which the righteous do not get protected? For example, a pregnant woman in the Philippines and the child she carried miraculously survived several shots in the torso from a high-powered weapon at close range. But 17 other victims gunned down with her died. Emma Moss, the daughter of the founders of the Salvation Army and active in ministry work, was the only person to die in a train accident. Spencer Perkins, a strategic player in the racial reconciliation movement, died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 43.
Sometimes we face death because of our own choices and actions. Other times we do so because we have ignored proper warnings. Perhaps we perish because we didn't realize the warning we received was from God. Occasionally death simply seems to be the result of the random course of events. But often God is at work in tragic circumstances in ways that we may not clearly recognize until much later.
William Wilberforce, for example, lost his father at age 9. His aunt and uncle were childless. But the combination of the two circumstances exposed Wilberforce to the evangelical preaching of the abolitionist John Newton. Ultimately Wilberforce became the leading champion of abolitionism in England until, on his deathbed, the entire British Empire outlawed slavery. So we must trust in God's ability to protect and deliver, knowing that in a given situation it may not occur. But even if death or tragedy does happen, we know that God can bring something good out of it in the long run.
Lord, thank You for the abundant evidences of Your protection in the past. I trust You and place myself in Your hands today. I know that You have my best interests at heart.
Our text affirms God's ability to exempt people from judgment. He is able to hold back destructive winds and preserve His people in any circumstance. Not a deist God, who wound up the universe like a clock and then went on vacation, He is intimately concerned about His people and arranges for their protection.
The heavy shelling that occurred some time ago in Brazzaville, central Africa, demonstrated His ability to intervene. The bombardment ruined most of the large stores and hotels. Many Christians and others crowded into the large church building, and thought everything around it was destroyed, the structure itself remained undamaged.
But life is not always that simple. What about the many situations in which the righteous do not get protected? For example, a pregnant woman in the Philippines and the child she carried miraculously survived several shots in the torso from a high-powered weapon at close range. But 17 other victims gunned down with her died. Emma Moss, the daughter of the founders of the Salvation Army and active in ministry work, was the only person to die in a train accident. Spencer Perkins, a strategic player in the racial reconciliation movement, died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 43.
Sometimes we face death because of our own choices and actions. Other times we do so because we have ignored proper warnings. Perhaps we perish because we didn't realize the warning we received was from God. Occasionally death simply seems to be the result of the random course of events. But often God is at work in tragic circumstances in ways that we may not clearly recognize until much later.
William Wilberforce, for example, lost his father at age 9. His aunt and uncle were childless. But the combination of the two circumstances exposed Wilberforce to the evangelical preaching of the abolitionist John Newton. Ultimately Wilberforce became the leading champion of abolitionism in England until, on his deathbed, the entire British Empire outlawed slavery. So we must trust in God's ability to protect and deliver, knowing that in a given situation it may not occur. But even if death or tragedy does happen, we know that God can bring something good out of it in the long run.
Lord, thank You for the abundant evidences of Your protection in the past. I trust You and place myself in Your hands today. I know that You have my best interests at heart.
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