Retrospective Wisdom

 I recently started re-reading the first draft of my third book on prayer and came across a passage that, although written some five years ago, is packed with a retrospective wisdom of sorts. I found this passage within the context of Solomon’s prayer to God, and it struck me so profoundly that I had to re-read it a few times to make sure it said what I thought it said.

When it comes to book writing, I’m like a kid who was gifted a trunkload of Legos and wants to build them simultaneously. I have about eight books in various stages of completion sitting on my laptop. Since we are almost out of the diaper changing watch the kids every waking minute so they don’t tumble down the stairs stage, I’ve decided it would be an excellent time to roll a few of them out since I believe they are relevant for the body of Christ.

This was the oldest of the manuscripts sitting idle, so I decided to begin with the oldest and work my way to the present.

I believe that these short paragraphs written well over five years ago will do much to clarify the situation we are currently living through. I know some will not receive it in the spirit with which it was intended, but I would rather contend with the reality before me than fool myself into believing something that is counter to Scripture.

Solomon realized instinctively what Paul would later verbalize in his letter to the Romans, that there is no authority except God, and God appoints the authorities that exist. Whether to bless a nation or judge a nation, God appoints its authorities, rulers, and kings. As creatures limited in understanding, oftentimes, we do not perceive or understand God's plan in the appointment of a particular leader or a specific authority. One of the most common reasons we cannot see God's plan is due to the underlying assumption that the leader or authority was appointed for our blessing rather than our judgment. We want to believe that God will bless us despite ourselves, but His word confirms the contrary.

When we open our eyes to the reality that God establishes rulers to both bless and judge, we come to understand why certain men are in power in certain nations.

In a nutshell, this is what the church must now wrestle with. We must come to terms with the reality that just because we happen to reside in America, we are no more special than those in Uganda, Romania, or Poland. God judges sin in the land, and no nation, people, or tongue has ever received a reprieve from judgment without repentance. It’s not as though we weren’t given time to repent. Instead of humbling ourselves, we squandered the time we were given. Even if a game goes into overtime, it doesn’t mean it will go on indefinitely.

The real tragedy in all of this is that the Church didn’t even bother to get off the bench as the clock was ticking down. They much preferred to mock and look down on those that though outnumbered, still tried their best to eke out a tie hoping to go into double overtime.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea Jr.