“The opposite of this is that man will vote and elect who they want, despite God’s will, making God powerless. If you look in the Bible you will see good Kings and bad kings. I stand by that I pray that God blesses us thru Grace with a wise leader and doesn’t give us who we deserve.”
I appreciate your kind response. I am not saying that man is outside of God’s intervention or influence. I’m saying that the Sovereign God allows human beings freedom of choices - good, evil, right, wrong, unwise, wise, etc. but within His boundaries. What I mean by that is that God has an ultimate purpose for His creation. We cannot thwart that purpose - but we don’t always know what that purpose is. Sometimes God directly intervenes (such as the Exodus by Israel from Egypt, the conquering of Israel/Judah by the Assyrians and the Babylonians, etc.), and sometimes God doesn’t.
Think about this. Why would Jesus pray, “Thy will by done on Earth as it is in Heaven”? If God’s will is always done, why would Jesus tell us to pray that His will be done? This is a difficult subject to discuss because there are so many views about all of this. The reason I posted a response is that I think God gets blamed for many of the poor choices we humans make. I don’t think that is fair to Him.
I asked you in the previous post if you ever disobeyed one of God’s commandments. If you have, didn’t you go against God’s will for you when you did that? Or did God “cause” you to disobey and sin. If God is the “cause” behind every indiviual act or acts committed by nations, then God is ultimately responsible for evil. I just don’t believe that.
God gives us His will (or direction) for how to live our lives, but He gives us the freedom to obey or disobey those commandments. If I disobey those guidelines and commandments - I will experience certain consequences. Therefore, just as an individual is given freedom to make wise or unwise choices, so nations have that same freedom. Of course there are exceptions to this when God does intervene, but I think those interventions are the exception and not the rule. The point is, a nation that makes a poor choice is responsible for that poor choice and is going to suffer the consequences of its actions.
Consider this. God allowing us freedom to make choices does not make Him “powerless”. He has ultimate authority. He allows us freedom, but as I said, within the boundaries of His sovereign will. The problem is we don’t always know what that sovereign will is. Unless you have a Moses-like or a Elijah-like relationship with the Almighty, and He revealed this to you, then you (or I) do not know who God’s “choice” is for our president. We only know that He allowed the person who won to win. If every political leader in the world and in history was/is God’s preferred “choice”, then are you willing to say that Hitler was God’s “choice” for Chancellor of Germany in the 1930’s? Was Idi Amin God’s choice for Uganda? Was Saddam Hussain God’s choice for Iraq? God certainly allowed them to come to power, but I do not believe that we can speak for God and say that those individuals were God’s preferred “Choices”. We just don’t know enough to say that.
This is a poor analogy, but look at this way - a parent has a “will” for his/her children. Parents want their children to be responsible, moral, hardworking individuals that will one day be able to stand on their own as adults. In order for that to happen, we have to teach our children and guide them, but at some point, we also have to allow them the freedom to act on their own. We can’t always be there to intervene. In fact, it wouldn’t be healthy for them or us if we did. Part of being a good parent is knowing when and when not to intervene. In the same way, God allows individuals and nations freedom to make choices too. Sometimes He intervenes and sometimes He doesn’t - even though He is always in ultimate control and authority.
So what am I saying? I’m saying that God is not to blame for who the American people choose as their leader next November. He allows us to make that choice, under His authority, but we do choose and we will be held responsible by Him and to Him for our actions. That makes Him a pretty powerful God in my estimation.
I hear what you are saying. My post was basically was about faith though. It’s gonna be ok, guys.