Driven to the Cross

This post will echo one I wrote not long ago called, “Today’s Chaldean Chastisement.” In that article I drew the striking parallels between the Chaldeans of the Old Testament and the present-day Chaldeans, aka Iranians. I asked the question whether we should consider that God may be using today’s Chaldeans to chastise His people much as He used the original Chaldeans to chastise Israel long ago. I recommend you follow the link and read the entire article, then draw your own conclusion.

What brought this all to mind today was the devotional by Charles Spurgeon for this date. Spurgeon used Hosea 5:15 for his inspiration: “In their affliction they will seek me early.” He then makes an application that I believe has contemporary relevance. I will translate a portion of it into 21^st century language. “Losses and adversities are frequently the means which the great Shepherd uses to fetch home his wandering sheep; like fierce dogs they worry the wanderers back to the fold…. When rich and increased in goods, many believers carry their heads much too loftily and boast exceedingly. Like David, they flatter themselves, ‘My kingdom is secure; I shall never be moved.’ When the Christian grows wealthy, is in good repute, has good health, and a happy family, he too often grows accustomed to worldly comforts, and then if he be a true child of God there is a rod preparing for him…. Blessed are the waves that wash the mariner upon the rock of salvation! Losses in business are often sanctified to our soul’s enriching. If the chosen soul will not come to the Lord full-handed, it shall come empty. If God, in his grace, finds no other means of making us honor him among men, he will cast us into the deep; if we fail to honor him on the pinnacle of riches, he will bring us into the valley of poverty. Don’t lose faith, heir of sorrow, when you are thus rebuked, rather recognize the loving hand which chastens, and say, ‘I will arise, and go unto my Father.’”

Some of the most tragic results beyond the loss of life brought about by the viral infection that has struck us is the loss of economic stability even to the point of some commercial endeavors that took a lifetime to build being ruined beyond repair by the government shutdowns. Across America, and I suspect around the world, small family businesses have been shuttered for good because there was not enough money saved to weather the storm. Many of these once thriving businesses were operating on a thin but viable margin allowing the owners to live and provide a living to many others, but not to provide a sufficient excess for a rainy day (year) fund.

Death of a vision represented by one’s life work can be just as grievous as death of a loved one. Loss of one’s means of support is equally devastating emotionally. In a sane world with responsible government, the viral plague we have encountered of late should not have ruined a healthy economy. Yet it has due to government intervention, and one must wonder why a sovereign God would allow such an unsuspected outcome. I am toying with the idea that Spurgeon put in my mind today.

“Losses and adversities are frequently the means which the great Shepherd uses to fetch home his wandering sheep…. If the chosen soul will not come to the Lord full-handed, it shall come empty.” America is one of the richest nation on earth.  According to Giving What We Can, on a per capita basis, in 2019, the median income of working people in the United States was $35,977. Dividing our wealth among all three hundred plus million of us ($19,296) still lands the US above 99% of countries. Only Luxemburg and Norway were higher; most other countries were dramatically lower with the poorest nation, the Central African Republic (CAR) at $700.00 per year.

I am not in favor of socialistic wealth redistribution as you certainly will have discovered if you know me at all. There is no biblical support for a system where the government steals money from one citizen and grants it to another. The biblical answer to poverty is individual charity. God loves the cheerful giver, says Paul, and few Americans relinquish their hard-earned money in the form of taxes with cheer. Perhaps because Americans have not been sufficiently driven by one of the most often repeated commands of both Old and New Testaments to care for the poor, the orphan, and the widow, perhaps we have, “grown accustomed to worldly comforts,” as Spurgeon puts it, “and then if he be a true child of God there is a rod preparing for him.” The waves of viral infection and economic devastation may be, “the waves that wash the mariner upon the rock of salvation.”

This isn’t necessarily the end of the world although it may seem like it. Remember what God did for Job after he was humbled: his riches were restored in greater measure than before his trials. Remember how Joseph prospered after his long imprisonment. Remember the prodigal son returned to his former wealthy standing when his father welcomed him home with open arms. Remember that Jesus said those who gave up everything for His sake would receive back one hundredfold more in this life and the next. This is not to say we give in order that we may receive; that attitude betrays a faulty motivation and will not likely be rewarded. We must say with Job (again), “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord,” or, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

People who subscribe to the end times idea that a great battle will take place involving all the countries in the world are known to point out that America is nowhere to be found in their interpretation of Scripture. It is not impossible to think that she is not present for the final countdown because God has driven her to insignificance because of her selfish, wasteful use of His blessing. One does not have to believe that apocalyptic vision to see that America has been drifting from her Judeo-Christian roots for well over a century. Today, drifting is the wrong word; plunging is more accurate.

Revival and restoration will only come to America in one way: one heart at a time. Each person must examine himself to see if his faith is in the right thing. If you are prone to say that someone who has suffered financial loss has “lost everything,” check your language. If Jesus Christ is not “everything” to the believer, He is nothing. It is not wrong to mourn the loss of a family business that has been passed down through generations. In that mourning, the stricken one must lay his grief at the foot of the Cross and say with conviction, “In poverty or in wealth, my Savior is my all in all.”