A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


August 5, 2012

Proverbs 15:3

"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, 
watching the evil and the good."


          This verse of Scripture has meanings on multiple levels.  It is comforting to me to know that the Lord sees everything.  On a personal level, He sees into every corner of my life, and sees every thought, every deed, and every spoken word that I utter.  And that means He knows the good fruit that my actions bear, as well as the not-so-good, (dare I admit that they could be evil?).
     On that same personal level, He knows my heartaches, my fears, my worries, and my joys.  I am never alone.   He is good to instruct me in the areas that I need to change in order to please Him.  And He is there to comfort me, protect me, and provide for my needs.  And how often do I forget His character traits as I try to do everything by my own power?  
     The story of Sarah and Hagar comes to mind.  Sarah may have thought that it was time to take matters into her own hands, since God seemed to have forgotten His promise that she would bear a son.    So she offers her slave, Hagar, to Abraham; knowing that if a son is born, that child will be hers and Abraham's, according to the customs of their land.  When Hagar becomes pregnant, she mocks and taunts Sarah, until Sarah finally complains to Abraham, who declares, "You caused this problem; deal with it!"  So Sarah, wandering far from the original intent of God's promise, mistreats Hagar until she flees into the desert.  BUT GOD SEES HER!  And asks her to return to her mistress and submit.  He further tells her that she will bear a son and name him Ishmael, which in Hebrew means "God pays attention."  
     So throughout this Biblical story, we see that nothing escapes God.  Even when we stray from His commands and purposes, He is in control and is able to use all circumstances to advance His Plan.  And that gives me great comfort when I contemplate what happened in Aurora, Colorado.  The people in that theatre were not alone.  God was seeing everything that was going on.  As this Scripture states, He was watching the evil and the good.  He saw Evil personified in James Holmes, and He saw Good exemplified in the actions of those men who threw their bodies on top of their girlfriends.  He saw Good in those who helped the wounded and comforted the dying.  Evil does not exist in a vacuum.  There are always displays of goodness to remind us that God has not abandoned His own.  Even in the darkness of the Holocaust, survivors have stories of incredible grace and small miracles that pointed the way to God in their midst.
     And God was not absent that day in Aurora.  We may not be able to see how He will use this for His glory, but we can rest in the knowledge that He saw it all, and He is aware of the evil and the good that were present in that theatre.  And just as in the Sarah and Hagar story, no actions of man can prevent His plan from being fulfilled.  He will prevail!  And I promise you that there will be life stories that come out of that tragedy in Aurora; stories that we will never know, but stories that advance God's agenda.  Praise and Glory and Power to our God who sees all!   
       

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for your beautiful testimony! Even in the midst of earthly trials and afflictions, God gives us hope and assures us that his plan for his children will ultimately prevail. Satan may win a few battles but we don't have to worry about who wins the war! God and his work will triumph over all.

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  2. Right now it feels as though the scales are tipping in Satan's favor, doesn't it? And it will get a lot worse, before it gets better. But I hold on to the vision of Christ returning on his white horse, with His name on His thigh and on His robe .... He is KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS, and He will judge all this wickedness in the world. He will be victorious and we will be by His side!

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