From the book
“12 Ways You Can Make a Difference in This Crazy, Mixed-up World”
Chapter Two
Our Fist in God’s Face
In order to make a difference in this crazy, mixed-up world, we must understand the real problem: the rebellion against God.
Imagine that the powerful leader of an enemy nation has taken over our broadcast networks. Repeated appeals for peaceful resolutions have gone unheeded. So, using our news outlets, this adversary issues the following warning to our nation:
Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.[1]
Would such a credible threat from an enemy nation capture your attention? That threat was not aimed at an individual but at a group: yet “no one regarded.” But this message is for each individual in a society as well. Those threatening words are not from a human enemy. No indeed, those are the words of the Almighty God in the Book of Proverbs. History is littered with the many great nations who have ignored this warning and been destroyed. King David wrote, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”[2] When a nation rejects God and ignores His warnings, that nation is well-nigh hopeless. But there is still hope for us.
What are the warning signs that a nation is rebelling against God? On February 25, 2021, Congressman Greg Steube of Florida rose to speak on the floor of the U.S. Congress; he was debating the so-called “Equality Act.” He began his speech by quoting the Bible to support his opposition to that bill. Using the Bible is a good sign of hope. But in response to Mr. Steube, Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New York retorted: “What any religious tradition describes as God’s will is no concern of this Congress.”[3]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City became an epicenter for the disease. God’s people prayed as they tried to care for the needs of others. But as the crisis began to ease, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued this official statement, “The number is down because we brought the number down . . . God did not do that. Faith did not do that. Destiny did not do that. . . A lot of pain and suffering did that . . . That’s how it works. It’s math…”[4]
In essence, the governor was saying, “Can’t be our Maker, must be math.”
Are we a nation that has forgotten Almighty God? Nadler, Cuomo and so many others, are on the wrong side of history. They don’t understand how to face a national crisis. Consider the words of our first president. On September 28, 1789, President George Washington wrote the following to Samuel Langdon:
The man must be bad indeed who can look upon the events of the American Revolution without feeling the warmest gratitude towards the great Author of the Universe whose divine interposition was so frequently manifested in our behalf—And it is my earnest prayer that we may so conduct ourselves as to merit a continuance of those blessings with which we have hitherto been favored.[5]
George Washington appealed for a nation that would continue to humbly abide by the will of God. Jerrold Nadler objects that “… God’s will is no concern of this Congress!”
So how did we get from Washington’s grateful acknowledgement to the disdain of Nadler and Cuomo? This rebellion is spelled out in the Scriptures and applies to each and every nation today.[6]
Making a Fist in God’s Face
Five phrases in Paul’s letter to the congregation at Rome illustrate how to make a fist in the face of God. Beginning with an open hand, close one of your fingers to your palm as you read each of these phrases: “Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”[7]
Step One: Although they knew God
Our founding fathers spoke of God’s gracious influence. America has known the Lord God Almighty through great awakenings – revivals of widespread repentance through gospel grace. The first of these awakenings occurred in 1730’s through the 1750’s. The Holy Spirit used men such as Jonathan Edwards in New England and George Whitefield throughout the colonies to awaken their countrymen to righteousness. Many of our American ancestors have known God. Do you desire to know Him as well?
Step Two: They did not glorify Him as God
To glorify God means to magnify His uniqueness, His excellence. Little by little, succeeding generations of Americans turned away from glorifying God with few exceptions.[8] Now God is openly mocked in the public arena. For instance, when Vice President Mike Pence prayed with his task force during the worst of the pandemic, pundits mocked. “We’re at the mercy of people delusional enough to think their pleas to God will fix the problem.”[9]
Step Three: Nor were they thankful
Those who do not thoughtfully glorify God will not give Him thanks. When they think little of His grace, they see no need to express gratitude. Giving genuine thanks to God has been replaced by a thoughtless toss-off of mumbled words. Men such as Governor Cuomo foolishly believe that they are the source of their own blessings.
Step Four: They became futile in their thoughts
By and large, reality has been replaced by fantasy. People exchange the truth of God for a lie; they worship and serve some created being rather than the God the Creator.[10] When was the last time you saw our leaders kneel before Almighty God? When did they cry out to God when faced with a national disaster or financial crisis? In this book, you will read of just such occasions in American history. But today, people quote from movies far more than they quote from Scripture.
Step Five: Their foolish hearts were darkened
Now our once great country gropes blindly, calling evil good and good evil. As the prophet Isaiah wrote, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”[11] America is curling its puny fist in the face of Almighty God. May God help us to repent from this evil rebellion.
These five steps downward explain what has happened in our crazy, mixed-up world.
Turning Back to God
If we are to make a difference, we must do the opposite of the five steps listed above. By faith, we can take hold of God.[12] Each one of us should strive to know God – not merely know about God. Meditate on His precepts; contemplate His ways.[13] And as you learn to know Him, glorify Him as God. Magnify His unique excellence. Praise Him for His wonderful ways. Then, as George Washington and others have done, express your heartfelt thanks to God. Instead of dwelling on the futile fantasies in movies and entertainment, why not dwell on God’s truth? Your heart and mind will be illuminated because the entrance of God’s Word gives light.[14]
Our modern American society mocks, “Where is your God now?” It elevates math above our Maker; it squeezes its puny fist in the face of Almighty God. How can each of us, as individuals, make a difference in this crazy, mixed-up world? In the next chapter, we will begin to answer that question with Christ’s Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount.
[1] Proverbs 1:24-27
[2] Psalm 9:17
[3] Funkey, “Jerry Nadler.”
[4] Prestigiacomo , “Cuomo.”
[5] Washington, “From George Washington.”
[6] Consider Jeremiah 18, Romans 1:20-32, cf. Micah 7:8-10
[7] Romans 1:21
[8] There were more “Great Awakenings,” but, by and large, America has declined spiritually.
[9] Mehta, “Here’s” and Smith, Samuel, “Mike Pence.”
[10] Romans 1:25
[11] Isaiah 5:20
[12] Isaiah 64:6-7
[13] Psalm 119:15
[14] Psalm 119:130
copyright 2023 Gordon A. Dickson, all rights reserved