ALL AFFLICTIONS ARE PERMITTED BY GOD! (PART 2 OF 2)

14th JUNE 2023

“Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it”? Amos 3:6

Righteousness is what makes us abide in God, and God abides with us in such a manner that we become one with God. It is a state of purity and sanctity that gives us the qualification to call God our Father! Therefore, righteousness is a state that is pleasing to God, and we are called to righteousness through obedience to the commandments of God, and a readiness to accept His holy will.

The righteousness of a nation is dependent on the righteousness of the people since it is the people that make up a nation. That means the collective idiosyncrasies or demeanours of a people define the righteousness of that nation.

If a nation is not living in accordance with God’s laws and His word, God will turn off His goodness from it. Our individual and collective responsibility as a people is to obey the Laws of God, as well as the laws of our countries.

Many a time, we either do wrong things or fail to do the right things and yet, we expect good things to happen in our nation. That will not be possible. It is what we allow to happen that we get. It is therefore time to embrace righteousness as a deliberate measure to overcome calamity.  

Another thing we can do is to constantly stand in the gap for our nation, and the world at large. The church and all men of goodwill ought to constantly stand in the gap in supplication for the nation in which they are resident. To fail in that responsibility is to allow evil to thrive, and virtually everyone will suffer especially the weak, innocent, and vulnerable ones. But again, only the prayers of the righteous will be answered. Therefore, the Assembly of God’s people must accept righteousness as a key to eternal goodness.

Another term or condition under which God will prevent evil is if we allow His will to prevail in all matters. God answers our prayers when we call upon Him to do His will and if we are also ready to do His will; Only then would He give us an opportunity to experience His goodness and faithfulness. Therefore, if we are not resistant to God’s will, we will overcome the trouble that confronts us.

The good news is that, if we are faithful to God in obedience, and are ready to do His will, the Lord God shall arise to fight all our battles.  However, when the people of God fail in their responsibility to uphold righteousness, we give the devil an opportunity to triumph over us.

Today, we are called upon to embrace righteousness as a key to winning victory over the evil of our time. This is because righteousness is the key to eternal goodness, that enables us to unlock God’s faithfulness.

 PRAYERS

Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, make us strong this day in all areas of our weaknesses as you fulfil your plans and purpose in our lives. We declare that you are a covenant-keeping God, and your mercy endures forever. AMEN.

FURTHER READING: Job 33:12-13; Eph 1:11; Matt 10:29-31