Conflict in Washington and elections in the UK and Israel
The Baylor/OU football playoff and divine sovereignty
How God will “fulfill his purpose through your life” today
The House Judiciary Committee appears likely to adopt two articles of impeachment today and send them to the full House of Representatives, where they may be voted upon as early as next week. If the House approves the articles by a simple majority (which seems very likely, given its Democratic majority), they are then sent to the Senate for a trial.
For the Senate to convict the president and remove him from office requires a two-thirds supermajority vote of those present. Given the Republican majority in the Senate, this seems very unlikely.
Meanwhile, a new poll reports that 50 percent of Americans say President Trump should not be impeached and removed from office, while 45 percent think he should be.
Ours is not the only government in turmoil.
British citizens have begun voting today in parliamentary elections that are likely to decide whether the world’s fifth-largest economy leaves the European Union next month or moves toward another EU referendum. An exit poll will be published when polls close at 10 p.m. (4 p.m. in Dallas) and may indicate the winner.
Last weekend, I watched on television as Baylor played Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game. I had to leave the game for a while, so I recorded it. Oklahoma was leading 10–0 at the time and the game looked like it was going to become a blowout.
When I returned, I checked the score online to see if I wanted to keep watching. I learned that Baylor was now leading 13–10 at halftime. I then watched the rest of the half, but I already knew its outcome.
You and I are playing a game whose score has already been decided. As my college professor noted, Christians can summarize the Book of Revelation in two words: “We win.” But the plays that make up that final score are nonetheless vital.
And the fact that God knows the future does not mean that he necessarily determines it.
The Lord sees tomorrow more clearly than we see today (Isaiah 46:10). He can see on Thursday what you will have for dinner on Friday. But watching and determining are not always the same thing. If I could watch you read this Daily Article, that fact would not mean that I forced you to read it.
God’s sovereignty does not negate our freedom. Scripture repeatedly calls us to exercise our free will in ways that honor the Lord and obey his will (cf. Matthew 7:21; John 14:21; 2 Timothy 2:15).
Here’s what God’s sovereignty does mean: his ultimate purpose will always be fulfilled. Lawmakers in Washington can debate the future of the president and voters in Great Britain and Israel can elect a prime minister, but no one can depose the King of the universe.
“In all your ways acknowledge him”
In these days of political turmoil, it may be instructive to remember an earlier leadership transition. 1 Chronicles 10 records the death of King Saul by his own hand after his forces were defeated by the Philistines (v. 4).
But the Chronicler made certain we understood the larger forces at work: “Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse” (vv. 13–14).
Saul chose to end his life, but that choice was consistent with God’s sovereign judgment on Saul’s choice to trust a medium rather than God’s sovereign will. What “mediums” do we trust today?
The familiar invitation of Proverbs 3 still stands: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (vv. 5–6, my italics). Our society understands trusting God with some of your heart in some of your ways, especially those that are private and “religious.” But those who seek the will of God and trust the sovereignty of God in all their ways are unique in our secular culture.
And they are uniquely blessed and used by their sovereign Lord.
“There is only one relationship that matters”
I have been reading Oswald Chambers’ classic devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, every morning for three decades. Across all those years, one paragraph especially stands out for me.
In the November 30 reading, Chambers states: “There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfil His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purpose, and yours may be that life.”
Will God “fulfill His purpose through your life” today?
