Sighing and Crying

After an encouraging Feast of Pentecost, we have seen great distress in our country this week. Rioting and selfish acts of random violence while we endure economic troubles and Covid-19; all of it together is disheartening. If you watched video this week of rioters smashing store windows, looting, burning buildings and police cars, perhaps this Scripture crossed your mind.

"Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it" (Ezekiel 9:4).

It is sad to see the nation we have become. God also sees the things that are done in this troubled world. His sorrow must be far beyond what we can imagine. This is not the world that He wants for us; it is world that man has chosen by following his own lusts. God has something far better in mind, and thankfully His solution is coming.

It may not seem like it, but it is a blessing to sigh and cry for our country. That means we have not become cynical, hateful, and hopeless. Rather, we mourn that our nation is reaping the wages of its sins. This is just like Jesus' reaction as He drew near Jerusalem, riding on a donkey. Knowing this city would reject and kill Him in a matter of days, He wept for its loss.

"Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, 'If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes" (Luke 19:41-42).

The truth revealed to us is "hidden from the eyes" of the world. We know the solution to the chaos flashing over our news feeds every day. That makes it is so sad for us to watch. Yet, God is still sovereign over all things. No matter the trouble we see all around us and looming ahead of us, His purposes are sure. The day is coming when the world's eyes will be opened. The heart of man will be renewed. That is the only lasting solution to all the hatred and violence that is in the world. For God says, "I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them" (Hebrews 10:16). 

We will see governments fail, economies deteriorate, hatreds rise, and eventually our lives threatened. Yet, with God's Spirit doing its work in us, we can pray earnestly with sighing and crying for the world. The solution is coming, brethren. Hold on and do not lose hope!

Warm regards,

Andy

Pastor