Prophetic Wisdom for Braving the Coming Storm - R. LOREN SANDFORD

Prophetic Wisdom for Braving the Coming Storm

11/4/2014 R. LOREN SANDFORD

U.S. Capitol Building (Flickr/Roman Boed)

I have been hesitant to release this publicly since I began sensing it some months ago, but I feel that at this point I must. Christians must be forewarned and positioned to be peacemakers, reconcilers and purveyors of hope in the face of the trouble to come.

I have long known that at some point Barack Obama would face a crisis to his presidency that would rock the nation. I expected it in the third year of his administration, but I confess that I've never been good at hearing specific dates from the Lord. I now expect it beginning in the third and into the fourth years of his second term. Many issues have already surfaced, as have many scandals that would have sunk any previous president, but so far none of these has seemed to coalesce into something worthy of "crisis." Witness the Fast and Furious debacle, the truth of what actually happened at Benghazi that is now surfacing via those who were on the ground during the attack, the scandals surrounding the Secret Service (from soliciting prostitutes to incompetence that allowed a runner to get all the way into the White House), as well as the IRS scandal and the resignation of its director, Lois Lerner. It has been a growing list. I have sensed with some dread that, in these last two years of the current administration, corruption will be exposed and turmoil will erupt at such a level and depth that we simply won't know how to deal with it.

It would be a mistake to make the president responsible for all of this, although he bears a significant portion of the responsibility, as do his predecessors. No matter what anyone tries to make of it, know that this is not a racial crisis, but rather a crisis of fundamental integrity, and that it extends to both sides of the congressional aisle. What is coming is the culmination of decades of erosion in the moral fiber of the nation, our rejection of God, of godly principles and the relentless pressure of a culture of self that leads us to vote for whoever promises to give us the most at the expense of personal responsibility. Additionally, we increasingly tend to elect those who advocate immorality in the name of individual rights and freedoms. In the end, God's ways work and man's ways don't, but mankind has always had a difficult time accepting this as truth.

The enemy of our soul has always been an opportunist who stands ever ready to fill the vacuum left by godly people who either abandon the biblical standard or neglect to stand forth and pay the price that raising the prophetic cry against immorality and corruption exacts. Charismatic and evangelical Christians, committed to the historic faith, will pay an ever higher price for our stand in the days to come. How we choose to respond will make the difference between being permanently marginalized on the one hand or walking in victory on the other (and ultimately enjoying favor with God and man) in the midst of a time of increasing turmoil.

It's time to play our role as prophetic Daniels to our Nebuchadnezzars and as Josephs to our Pharaohs. As they did, we can become assets to a lost world, demonstrating the love and power that flow from our Savior and our Father God without compromising our integrity or entering into idolatry. It's time to position ourselves to receive and minister to a growing stream of the hurting and the broken without judgment, condemnation or bitterness. More than ever, it will be love and grace that win the lost, not cries of judgment and destruction. It's time for us to shine.

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Love For His People Editor's Note: On Oct. 30 I shared my thoughts about the need for Christians to stand strong, in my NOW THINK ON THIS message, "No More Restraints?" - in reference to Christians standing for what is right against the falling walls that once stood on a strong foundation here in America. 

You can read that here: Now Think On This blog or see the message on this blog or the link to all my Now Think On This messages in the left hand column. 

Steve Martin, Editor