Realizing that our lives are in God’s hands and what the outcome is going to be as God sees fit is hard to grasp at times because we are always put to the challenge whether we allow Him to guide and direct our paths, as opposed to doing things strictly ourselves.  But do we realize just how much our lives are in God’s hands?  Or do we sometimes forget, not necessarily in an intentional manner, but our minds can get clouded as all kinds of distractions can set in, causing us to lose our focus?  When we are affected by a trial, we should be able to see that God has a hand in that situation, directly or indirectly, which is necessary for our road to perfection.  We may not think that at the moment a trial has set in, but hopefully we will be able to determine that at some point and realize that there had been a reason for it, which is why God tells us to test ourselves and examine ourselves at ALL times, making sure that we are counted worthy, making sure that our faith is strong enough (2 Corinthians 13:5).

God also has a hand in what is going on in the world.  Yes, Satan is the “god of this world” but he does not control everything.  And yes, God does allow Satan to do things but God still has the final word.  We can see this in the upcoming elections. God will determine what the outcome will be, and we will see what the future will bring.  We already know what the future will be like, and NO man can alter the fate of this nation and what it will bring about.   No matter how one looks at this, the outcome, as we know it, looks dreadful.  This nation will never dig its way out of the hole it has dug.  That is until Christ returns to put a stop to all of this, as we read about in Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation.

This is no surprise to those who actually understand what the Bible is saying, what the Bible has prophesied for a long time, about the fate of this country, the UK and the commonwealth nations.  The current state that this nation is in is the result of a selfish attitude to put matters in their own hands and ignorantly giving into Satan instead of looking to God for help and how we are supposed to obey Him.

What we must understand is that God is in control of this entire situation.  He is in control of our individual lives.  God is the One who places certain individuals in power to FULFILL His purpose (Daniel 2:21; 4:17) or Who allows Satan to do so (Luke 4:5-6). God is very clear in the book of Hosea, in 13:9-11, as to who is in ultimate control as to who rules a nation.  But God does not take pity on those who rebel against His Law, as it says in Hosea 8:1: “Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall come like an eagle against the house of the LORD, Because they have transgressed My covenant And rebelled against My law.”

Just as God has a specific plan for you and me, He also has predetermined His plan and purpose for all nations, as we read in Acts 17:26: “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.”  Today, the leaders of this world are not in search of the one true God, to have God fight their battles, yet they look to their own reasoning and resources.   What about us? Do we look to God in EVERY situation we are faced with?

God the Father has given some of His authority to the “god of this world”, allowing him to rule this earth until Christ returns, but Satan can only do what God allows. The leaders of this world have unknowingly followed Satan instead of the one true God (Revelation 13:4-5).   And so have many of the people we may know, including close friends of ours, that have been deceived by keeping the things that God prohibits and thereby not keeping the things that God commands.  God’s plan for this nation is quite evident and clearly prophesied.  Since we are aware of it, we have to be extra vigilant that we don’t slip up and “forget” His plan and purpose.  We still live in this world, and we are surrounded by a corrupt society where we need to be vigilant and not sway into false concepts devised by Satan who wants nothing more than to see us struggle and fail.

Situations will become more severe, and we will have to stand up for what is right despite what politicians and leaders insist on what is “ok,” but which is contrary to God’s Law.  We must NEVER leave Him out of the picture, but put matters into His hands (Jeremiah 17:5-8).  This is very difficult to do at times, especially in the heat of the moment.  We must keep our heads high and look to God for help.  It’s not going to get easier for this nation but it’s necessary in light of prophecy and God’s plan, for He states in Jeremiah 27:5: “I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me.”  Satan may have his glory here on earth, but it is only temporary, for God is in complete control and the end result will be fulfilled victoriously, according to HIS plan.

There is undoubtedly a lot of anger and hatred in the world, especially in the last several months. There has always been hatred throughout history, since the beginning of the records in the Bible, but the types of hatred we are seeing today are tough to comprehend. Could we have ever guessed that choosing or not choosing to wear a mask, for example, would lead someone to absolute hatred to the point of violence and death toward the other individual? Does that not make us angry when we hear something like that?  Do we hate to hear something like that?

When we listen to all the different restrictions enforced by the US governors in their states or measures in different counties as to what is banned and what is allowed, and when we see how absolutely inconsistent those restrictions are as if the virus has boundaries, it makes us angry, doesn’t it? And we can see that oftentimes, these restrictions have little to do with the pandemic itself, or else the whole world would be following a unified approach. This shows that the world does not know what to do. Do we also hate to hear about all these inconsistencies? Are we sick and tired of hearing over and over again about the coronavirus and the different massive governmental responses, perhaps even reading this Editorial or reading the Current Events each week?  Does it make us angry when all we seem to be reading or hearing about is this upsetting and negative news, and are we not just anxiously waiting for something good to happen?

Lately, it has seemed like that, but we must not close our eyes as to what is going on. Otherwise, we would be unprofitable servants who refuse to pay attention and to watch. We in the Church of God know that even the current pandemic and man’s reaction to it are part of prophesied events. We also know what’s just ahead of us, as the observance of God’s annual fall Feast Days approach. We can expect trials and obstacles to happen to us, seemingly designed to prevent us from keeping God’s Holy Days. The Church has clearly been affected, and for some, plans are still not absolutely definitive when it comes to where they will be able to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. We are all being tested to see where our faith lies. With God, EVERYTHING is possible, and we need to trust that HE will make His Will known to each and every one of us (compare Matthew 19:26, Proverbs 3:5-6).

There is nothing wrong to feel hatred and anger with the terrible things that are going on all around us. Even God hates them, and He lists seven specific things in Proverbs 6:16-19, describing the conduct of the arrogant, liars, killers, schemers, evildoers, false witnesses and of those who sow discord in the Church. What God hates is what we ought to hate. We shouldn’t hate somebody, but we should hate the evil that the person does. We should hate what is sinful, because God hates that also. It has been correctly said that God hates the sin, but loves the sinner. He wants the sinner to repent and cease from sinning. That should be our attitude as well. This also teaches us self-control—how we are supposed to control hatred.

We should know what hatred or anger toward a person can do. That is why self-control is very important. It is very easy to get angry and feel hatred towards other people, with everything that is going on right now and especially if someone has done evil towards us. However, God tells us to love one another; love our enemies and to do good to those who hate us; and to love God’s Law, even if we are hated for it, and if we’re not already hated by the world for it, we will be (compare Matthew 10:16-22). This shouldn’t be a surprise. We should expect this if we stand up for God’s Truth.

If we struggle at times with the wrong kind of hatred, remember that God is perfect and He can change our attitudes and our way of thinking in ways that are humanly impossible to explain. We continue to do what we need to do, and when things seem humanly impossible, remember that God is the One who makes ALL things possible. And remember also, God will not allow a temptation or trial to overtake us which would be impossible for us to bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). Knowing this, we shouldn’t have anything to worry about or to fear. This, in turn, is how we can have our “hatred” under control. If we do our part, God will guide and provide for us as He sees fit.