by Glenice Mills
Just a coincidence? There are things that happen in our lives and the lives of others that we can attribute as a ‘coincidence‘. There are of course no coincidences in God, but how and what we do with these situations determine the outcome. When things happen to us unexpectedly we can do one of two things. We can blithely discard the incident as of no importance and tell ourselves it was just a chance occurrence or else we can view it from a spiritual perspective.
The problem with coming from the spiritual angle is: we can easily fall into the danger of becoming ‘super spiritual’ and see something that isn’t there. It is like seeing demons behind every tree and blaming everything on the enemy. Sadly many well meaning Christians have fallen into this trap resulting in delusion and fanciful thinking. That is the training and maturing stage we have to go through to learn to hear the Lord’s voice and grow in the gift of discernment. However it is of course about a balance in these things and finding the truth in the midst of the circumstances. Sometimes we need to take a step back, seek the Lord for His perspective and consider what He is doing from a big picture context. So it was this way that I approached a series of incidents that happened that I felt alarmed about.
Recently we saw where our Queensland Premier was hit on the side of his government vehicle he was travelling in. The force of the collision was enough to set off the side impact airbags. The premier, Campbell Newman, was understandingly shaken up, and what could have been a serious accident was averted because of the car’s safety features. A few days later our federal government opposition leader was also hit on his passenger side of the car he was travelling in. Both incidences happened here in Queensland, and both men were members of the Liberal National political party. We can view these incidents as ‘freak accidents’ and think nothing further of it, or we can stop, consider, and seek the Lord to see if He is wanting to say something about what happened.
So the past couple of weeks I have quietly been asking the Lord why, and what is He saying and doing. The truth is, nothing happens for no reason. Often it is a ‘wake up call’, a call to be on the alert, and to put things in place so change can come.
These men are a ‘target’. The direct hit by a vehicle is an analogy of the arrow hitting the bulls eye. The enemy tried, without success to bring great harm. However nothing happens without getting by the Lord and this is where we must seriously look at what happened. The enemy is ferocious at the moment, he knows he is losing ground and he is not pleased. The stand these men have been making on many contentious issues has placed them in a vulnerable position. Perhaps it could be put, that they are sitting ducks ready for the kill; victims being side swiped by the enemy.
This is a serious thing. The truth is: it is not so much about them as about us in the body of Christ here in Australia. What happened is actually an alert, to wake us up from our sleep, our complacency, our apathy and our ignorant oversight. We are all busy and easily distracted by the things happening in our everyday life. However, these must not be excuses for a requirement laid down in the word of God. We are to pray for those in authority, for those who hold positions of leadership. I personally have been remiss in not being obedient to pray for our government leaders. Perhaps at this time we need to be seriously praying for our state government and the federal government’s opposition party. The federal opposition party are ones who are being positioned right now to take power at the next election. I know there are many faithful men and women in this nation who are praying and this is not intended as any judgment of them and their prayers. It is about all of us seriously looking at and checking we are faithful and consistent in this.
We saw in the recent state elections where the election campaign was rife with personal attacks against Campbell Newman. It reached its lowest point when they attacked his wife and family. The onslaught by the labour opposition leader and labour supporters were a violation against a person not seen in such venomous ways before.
The truth is people were used by the enemy to bring these accusations and the viciousness was more than personal attack: it was demonic.
The enemy is very threatened by the rising up of men and women from a conservative party that holds onto basic Christian principles. The trade union/labour party faction and the spirit behind this doctrine is seriously threatened. The labour party is destabilised right now as the demonic stronghold has been exposed and is being pulled down from its false position of power. It is by the hand of God that these things are happening.
We are in a spiritual battle even in our government. There was a door open that allowed the enemy to come and try and bring destruction against two men doing their daily work. They were accidents with no malicious intent by those who accidentally drove into them. However we must look beyond the coincidence. These men are the Lord’s, whether or not they have a close relationship with Him I do not know. However, they have been chosen to take their positions of authority, therefore that is the position that the Lord has placed them in. Our state government has a number of Christian Members of Parliament including a Christian woman Leader of the House. They need our prayer support!
A vital prayer is for the Lord’s protection. They need the Lord’s protection, particularly Campbell Newman and his family (his wife Lisa and their two teenage daughters). This is our watch and the Lord is alerting us to pray for them! They need our prayers of protection: protection physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
It is not so much a case of politics and which party you support, but rather about what is happening spiritually. That is our responsibility: the church, the body of Christ.
There is a big difference between alarm and alert. This is not meant to be an alarmist coming from and stirring up fear but rather a sound, a warning, to stand, to watch and to pray.
Can I encourage you to declare this over Campbell Newman and his family:
Psalm 91:3-8
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
I titled this word ‘Just a coincidence’ because that is the lie of the enemy, his plan is to ‘dumb down’ and null and void the seriousness of a situation so we don’t do anything about it. We use our minds to justify, and talk ourselves out of by reasoning rather than going to prayer. Can I encourage you whether it be personally or what you see happening to others, to see past the coincidence and seek the Lord, asking Him to show you what He is doing.
You will be surprised what He will say as understanding comes.
Psalm 92: 1-2
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty,
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God in Him I will trust”.
