By Glenice Mills
In recent weeks we have seen the power of God being displayed with storms, strong winds, flooding and much devastation and destruction. For those with eyes to see there is much more that the Lord is doing that He wants to reveal. His power was displayed! It was by His hand. The truth is He directed where the storm was to go, it was He who brought the destruction. It was by his power that over 23,000 lightening bolts hit in one of the storms. That is the awesomeness of our God, the Creator of heaven and earth. God’s ways are not our ways, and there are some things that happen that we do not and cannot understand because He is God! However there are some things that He is wanting to say that we all need to be aware of, because the truth is God can do whatever He wants to do because He is God.
Proverbs 16:9 - "A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure."
The Lord showed me a man’s steps are like the flow of water much like a river, however there is a wall to block and stop the flow to cause the water to change course; to go against the natural flow and to bring about a change of purposes. It is dramatic, completely altering a direction and bringing about a life changing course. The Lord is the one who puts up the wall to bring about the change of direction. We can go with the flow but in the end the Lord will bring us backto the place where He wants us to go. He will allow life changing circumstances to wake us up, to alert us, to have us evaluate where we are going. It is by His hand, there is nothing that we can do, nothing that we can lay claim to. We dare not, He is God!
There are some areas of concern that the Lord has been showing me. There are men of authority in this nation at both a federal and state level of government who are proudly boasting that we have a budget surplus and we will not need to go into deficit. It is only because of God’s grace on this nation and that He has caused men and past governments to lay plans for the times ahead. In fact they followed a godly truth, that is to store away when things are good for a time when there will be lack. The budget surplus came about by God’s hand, so how dare we boast of this in our own achievement. It is God who gets the glory not man! We have just seen how one series of storms have wreaked havoc in areas and this has resulted in not only loss of life, destruction of property, and huge inconvenience for many people but also a huge expense that will blow the budget.
1 Timothy 6: 17 - "As for the rich in this world charge them not to be proud and arrogant and contemptuous of others, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches, but on God, who richly and ceaselessly provided us with everything for our enjoyment."
So what is God saying in all this? In arrogance and pride, leaders have been boasting of the budget surplus; there has been a ‘we’ll be right jack’ attitude and blow anyone else. It is the height of selfishness, there is no acknowledgement of how the surplus has come about, and no consideration of how it can impact others. God hates pride and arrogance.
Proverbs 8: 13 - "The reverent fear and worshipful awe of the Lord includes the hatred of evil; pride, arrogance, the evil way, and perverted and twisted speech I hate."
God will bring down every high and lofty thing, and the leaders need to be very careful what they are saying but more importantly their heart attitude behind it. God moved, and He will move again if it means that it will bring man down and bring him to a place of crying out to Him for help. The leaders of this nation (Australia) need the Lord’s help particularly in this time of financial crisis. They need people around them with godly wisdom.
Proverbs 15: 22 -"Where there is no councel, purposes are frustrated, but with many councellors they are accomplished."
There is no time like now for these men to humble themselves and reach out to ones who have insight and knowledge to give keys and strategies to bring about God’s plans, which will result in good coming to the government of this nation. There are ones placed there now that the Lord is goping to raise up. There are ones that He is going to bring in who have passed many tests in God, and they are the ones that He can trust with the importance of the roles; they have to bring truth to these government men and women. There is one man, Andrew Fraser, the Queensland State Treasurer, who is being raised up at this time. I sense an alert for him, there is an assignment against him which would set him up to corrupt him, that even corruption charges would come against him.
Proverbs 19:21 - "There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s councel that will stand."
This word is for all of us, because we all have plans, however we all need wise counsel to guide us, to position us in exactly the right place at the right time. We cannot be objective because we are personally involved and attached but another who is seperate can speak wisdom and truth. We have to be willing to be adjusted and taught.
Another issue these storms brought up is man’s idolatry. Sadly man’s hope is in his possessions; in his house, and in the security that this brings. The Lord has challenged me on this and we will alll need to look at it. It is so easy to get security and safety in our possessions, but even here the Lord can move and as we saw His hand brought destruction and personal devastation into the lives of many. Would you react if a storm came and brought destruction to your home? Perhaps we all need to look at this? Is our trust in our homes and our possessions or is our trust in the Lord? It is a difficult question to ask and one that requires time to answer. Very quickly we see the items that have a hold over our lives - these are the first things we think of. These are the things that are an idol. God says He hates idolatry, that He would have no idol before Him. The truth is He can remove anything that has a hold over us, He is a jealous God.
Is God a vindictive God? Is He a mean God? Is He a punishing God? - These are all lies! His heart is always about bringing people to Himself. His heart is a heart of love and comfort. The truth is our lives are in His hands. The Lord will allow circumstances to happen to us that are a defining ‘wake-up call’ to avert us going down a wrong track.
Romans 8: 28 - "All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes."
It was so encouraging to see church buildings become a refuge for those who were homeless, and for church leaders to rally together to bring practical and spiritual support to those who were in need. Apparently the sunday after the storms the local churches in the storm areas were packed out. This is a prime opportunity for the church to truly be the church; this is to provide for the needs of the community and to be the ones to minister the love and comfort of God. We don’t like to think it but the truth is when things are going well, those that do not know the Lord are content to go on with their day to day lives. It is not until there is a crisis that there is something that is innate in the heart of man that cries out to God. That is God at work. We the church need to be ready to meet that need, to bring salvation, and restoration to the lives of ones that He is drawing into His Kingdom.
