Faith Through the Journey

Are We Listening Yet?

Another September 11 has come to America. As of this moment, there have not been any further attacks on American soil or Americans scattered around the world. Thirteen years after that fateful day when four airliners were murderously crashed into American cities and the Pennsylvania countryside, life has changed in some ways, and yet there have not been the kind of changes we really need. Some changes have been intended to keep us safe, external trappings that make us feel that we are doing something to make ourselves feel safer.

And yet, have things really changed since 2001? Are we different at the heart of our culture, have we changed in ways that make our society better? For a short time, our citizens spoke of faith and our need for God following the tragedy of September 11, 2001. We were reminded that we can’t do everything for ourselves, that we aren’t in control of our lives, that we were, in many ways, vulnerable. We can’t keep bad things from happening to us, we do need help from the God who has created us and who watched over and blessed America’s founding. As we got over some of our fears, we began to return to our self-reliant attitudes. We began to think that the worst was over, that we could continue living our lives as we saw fit. That might have been a good thing, except that on September 11, 2001, we as a country had strayed far from the moral and spiritual foundations of our beloved America. We continue to push God further away from our everyday lives, deciding that we are the best people to decide what is right and wrong. The biggest problem with that, however, is that if everyone in our society is deciding what is best for them, there is no consensus about how we are to function as a whole nation. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were not the least bit confused about the source of their protection and the standards by which we as a new nation should live. “And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” Divine Providence meant that they were going to live, to the best of their abilities, by the standards set by God Himself.

Fast forward to today’s American way of life. How much does our culture reflect the standards of God? If we are the least bit honest with ourselves, we have to admit that our cultural standards of behavior bear little if any resemblance to the early days of our country. The downward spiral of American society isn’t too hard to trace, for with every passing year we move further away from the standards of our founders until today, when God is no longer relevant to much of America’s life. Is it any wonder that if we tell God “No” and push Him out of our lives, eventually He’ll give us what we ask for: A culture completely devoid of any mention of Him except as a curse word? That if we only come to Him when we’re in trouble and expect Him to jump and do what we ask, even though we have no intention of living our lives in obedience to Him, we can still demand that He do what we want Him to do? If we don’t want Him in our lives, He’s not going to barge in and take over. He wants us to come because we want Him.

During the past year, I’ve been blessed to go to the World Trade Center site in New York City and St. Paul’s Church there, Washington, DC, and the National Day of Prayer in the U.S. Capitol Building. The one thing that came through to me loud and clear in each of those places and situations was that God is still in America. The cry of my heart in each of those places was that we would WAKE UP AND LISTEN!! Isaiah 9:10, 11 and 13 says:” But they were a proud and arrogant bunch. They dismissed the message saying, ‘Things aren’t that bad. We can handle anything that comes. If our buildings are knocked down, we’ll rebuild them bigger and finer. If our forests are cut down, we’ll replant them with finer trees.’ So God incited their adversaries against them, stirred up their enemies to attack. But the people paid no mind to him who hit them, didn’t seek the God-of-Angel-Armies.” These words of prophecy were spoken three times over our country by our leaders early in the 21st century and following 9/11, unbeknownst to them as to the significance of they were saying. But God’s Word also says in II Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” God still waits for people to come to Him; that was another thing that kept coming to me in all of those places. There will eventually come a day, though, when there will be no more waiting for man to come. Genesis 6:3 says:”Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not strive (plead) with man forever…'”

There is still time for America, for God has been gracious to allow us another day on earth. But we don’t know how many more chances we will have. God is continuing to speak; but are we listening yet? 

Wisdom…Don’t Live Without It!

The book of Proverbs centers around the theme of Wisdom, much of it written by King Solomon, one of the wisest men that ever lived. When God asked him what he wanted God to give him, Solomon asked for wisdom. That being the case, the wisdom expressed in the book of Proverbs is that which God gave Solomon. We should listen carefully!

Proverbs 1:7 says: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” The word “fool” is more accurately interpreted as one who is morally deficient. Wisdom, then, is more than being intellectually smart. Wise is defined by Webster’s dictionary as “discerning and judging soundly concerning what is true or false, proper or improper; discreet.”  We NEED wisdom if we expect to make right decisions in our lives, and God’s wisdom will bring us the very best results. Thankfully, we don’t have to have a super intellect to gain wisdom. It is available for the taking, IF we are willing to ask. Proverbs 1:20-33 says: “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech: ‘How long will you simple ones (those without moral direction and inclined to evil) love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hare knowledge? If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster, I will mock when calamity overtakes you–when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm.'” 

Wisdom, God’s wisdom, is freely available to everyone who asks. Those who are considered “foolish” and “simple”, those are morally deficient, who have no moral direction and are inclined to evil, seem to choose not to take advantage of godly wisdom. They choose instead to make their own decisions based on their own knowledge, and will most likely crash and burn at some point. Navigating the complicated world in which we live without godly wisdom will end in eternal demise, pride standing in the way of depending on God’s wisdom. It requires a humbling of ourselves, of recognizing that even with the best of our own wisdom and knowledge, we still need God’s direction and help in finding our way in a world increasingly hostile to Him. To have both courage and humility might seem a strange combination of character traits, but they are both required to be ready to receive the wisdom for living that God will freely give to anyone who asks Him. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).