The thought of the United States going to war with Iran scares me. At this point, that has not been “declared” but there seem to be threats of the possibility.

This is happening in the midst of my study of “The Sovereignty of God,” by A.W. Pink. Mr. Pink leaves his readers with no doubt that God is the One who will ultimately lead our nation as He chooses. Should that gives us hope?

When we look at how God dealt with Old Testament Israel, it isn’t hard to see that we are in line for the same kind of “wake-up” call that He gave them. A lot of people (even Bible believing Christians) would say that God would never send us into battle. His dealing with His people in history causes me to reject that thought. He can use whatever He will, regardless of what it looks to us.

He called Israel “idolaters” and “adulterers” (Jeremiah 2:5, 9:2). Certainly those titles could be used for us as we remove the laws of God from our culture and serve the gods of self and comfort as we kill babies in the womb. Add to those, going to war without a defensive reason and we give God more reason to jolt us into repentance.

The hard part for many of us is that we are helpless to do anything about it but speak the truth to anyone close enough to hear us. Without being able to influence the governing powers, we are at the mercy of people who may acknowledge God but their hearts are far from Him (Mark 7:6). The truth is our influence will never be as good as God’s and His is always there.

There were times in the nation of Israel’s history when the people had recognized the work of God and they did praise His Name and give Him the glory for victories in battle – but they still had to face the battle and repent of their dependence on other nations or other gods.

God had fought and won the battle for Israel bringing them out of slavery and bondage in Egypt. In Exodus 15:1-3, they were singing praises to His name, knowing it was His victory, not theirs! They sang high and holy praise to Him for what He had done for them.

Where has this understanding that there is a God who is sovereign over every victory and every struggle or war gone? Why do we live in a nation that seems surprised to hear that there is a God who not only cares about what happens but will bring His judgment or His blessings upon us individually and as a nation?

There is a promise in the scriptures that one day “the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). This sounds very much like one aspect of what things will be like when the people of God have taken dominion of all the earth.

Are we, the Church of Jesus Christ, even trying to change the world Godward, let alone take dominion? Do we recognize that any trouble that comes to us, even war, is in the hands of our gracious God? Have we so given up on teaching the “whole counsel of God” that many have no idea what to expect from our Sovereign God?

We can do better at sharing the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, even if it’s only in our own backyard.

Words to consider from 1 Chronicles 29:10-13:

“Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. “Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name. 1 Chronicles 29:10-13