THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN TIMES OF TROUBLE By Pastor Ellery Aguayo

I think it is imperative for us as Christians in this hour to understand that God's hand is sovereign over persecution and all the work of the enemy - whether satanic or human. Nothing flies under His radar. When God ordained Babylon to conquer and take captive Jerusalem, many lives were lost and the temple itself - the temple God's people believed would never be destroyed - was burned to the ground. The Jews thought God had turned His back and broken His covenant with them. But that was not the case. In the midst of the Babylonian aggression, the prophet Jeremiah spoke what would become one of the most famous passages in the bible: Jeremiah 29:11 "I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with HOPE." In the midst of what looked like the end of their nation, God revealed HOPE. He revealed the Babylonian strike and ensuing captivity as part of HIS plan. And it was a plan for good! The same principal is seen in Genesis 50:20 where Joseph tells his brothers who sold him into slavery:  “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good..." And this is what God means for us in America (and Israel and all the nations) today. What looks to be our destruction is really for our preservation. I am not saying it won't be messy, or dark or distressing. I'm not saying we won't suffer because most of us will. But what is happening in this nation and abroad has been ordained of God to SAVE lives. We can all live in a false peace and comfort (as most of us have) while the unsaved go to Hell. But this is not what God wants. Our world is being disrupted violently in order for the church to RISE and proclaim God's message of salvation and hope through Christ. If it takes temporary hardship to make that come about, then the hardship will come and persist until God's plans are accomplished. If our way of life must change for people to be saved for eternity then change it will without question, by the sovereign hand of almighty God. God does no wrong. He does not sin. Whatever he allows the wicked to do He does so with boundaries for His own wise and merciful purposes. Right now, all political leaders are playing right into God's hand. So is satan. Many will be saved in the coming hardships and persecution. During the 70 years of Babylonian captivity, an amazing thing happened: the Pentateuch was compiled. The Word of God was given honor. His law returned to His people and the sin of idolatry that plagued them for hundreds of years was finally forsaken. Dishonor for His word and pagan idolatry by His people was more insidious to God then 70 years of captivity by pagan forces. It was those 70 hard years that saved God's people and rescued Judaism. Now this is what we face. Will we honor Christ, the Word of God? We will.. God is insuring that. Will we forsake the idolatry that has plagued the church for decades? We will. God is insuring that, too. This storm we are entering is a storm of HOPE. Christ will be glorified. Nations may fall, but God is causing His church to rise. In the midst of TEMPORARY turmoil, many will be saved from eternal destruction. Please give the people you know who are distressed to suicide the message that God's plans for the coming storm are for good and not evil. Everything in existence has been created for the glory of Christ. And glorify Christ it shall, even if it doesn't look like it just yet.