And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. - Revelation 6:4
In various times, God has withdrawn some gracious gift or His favor from a people. He withdrew His hedge of protection from Job. He withdrew His glory from the temple in Israel. He withdraws His Spirit from men when He directs His Spirit to stop striving with the consciences of men. Jesus threatens to withdraw His lampstand from the churches in Revelation. In the text above, He withdraws His peace that keeps men from going at each other with violence. There are many more examples in Scripture where God in His providence or judgement has withdrawn in some way.
What these examples teach me is that everything that keeps mankind from destroying itself if given the chance comes from God as a gracious gift. Apart from God's restraining grace, mankind would go down in a hurry. Mankind has repeatedly presumed upon God's gracious gifts that keep things in relative order by sinning blatantly again and again against God. In fact, it seems from the Bible that the more God blesses a people with peace and prosperity, the more likely they are to eventually degrade themselves in their presumption and pride into more and more covetousness, heart idolatry and sexual immorality. Eventually God moves to remove His Spirit, or His peace or HIs grace of favor from a conscience, a nation or even a local church body as revealed by Jesus' warning in Revelation to the churches.
I'm not claiming a prophetic word of judgment against America although I could make a good case. What I am saying is that when you see the ingredients of past blessing and yet a marked and accelerating decline into covetousness, worldliness and sexual immorality (even in the churches) among the favored people, the pattern is for God to remove His restraining work and other grace in a place in order to warn, correct or judge.
If what I'm saying in correct and applicable to what the US has experienced and is experiencing, then perhaps we could focus on the right path to take. God instructed His people in times of severe stress, conflict and persecution to rejoice in hope, endure in tribulation and be constant in prayer. Perhaps we should be helping ourselves and others to enter into that state of mind. Even if I'm wrong and God has not removed His peace or striving with us for a season or forever, we wouldn't be worse off for focusing on how to rejoice now in our hope of the grace to be revealed at the coming of Jesus, to endure with patience this trial and to pray a lot better, pray a lot more on eternal things and more pray more diligently. When I say "we", I don't mean that some already aren't doing this. It's the larger "we" of American Christianity to which I refer.
Such an attitude and state of spirit in the church would cause others who are at wits end with present conflict and disaster to ask us what is the hope we have in spite of the dire nature of the situation.
Of course we can work through the political system to affect change to correct things, but if God is working correction or judgement in order to bring about real change, then our efforts would not be only ineffectual but contrary.
We want all to return to normal. What if God doesn't. What if normal wan't good. As I said, even if God wants normal to return, we can't go wrong rejoicing in hope, patiently enduring in trial and being constant in prayer.
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Robert
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