The Rising Star and the Setting Sun- God's Judgement of Nations

Did you see the new movie the Great Awakening? It was an amazing movie, and if you haven’t seen it yet, you should. Although I enjoyed the movie and got swept away with the strong passionate words of the preacher George Whitfield, it was a quote made by Bengamin Franklin that caught my attention. He asked if the sun was rising or setting on America. This was said in the Continental Congress where the constitution was being decided on.

This quote rang a bell over something my college Old Testament Survey Professor said. As we went through the Bible, it was obvious that God destroys and raises nations according to His will. Even if nations didn’t follow Him, God would still use them. Just think about how God used Babylon to judge Israel. Did He condone all the sin Babylon was committing? No, and He also made it clear that He didn’t agree with the Assyrians who He used to judge Babylon. Or the many nations that came after Assyria to judge them.

As Christians we can look around the world and see through the eyes of the Bible the rise and fall of nations through examples set before us in the Old Testament.

“He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” – Daniel 2:21

“And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries; then I will end their king’s power.” – Ezekiel 30:26

“If at any time I declare concerning a nation or kingdom that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.” – Jeremiah 18:7-8

“He brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when He blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.” – Isaiah 40:23-24

“He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate.” – Luke 1:52

While we as Christians can have assurance that God is in control and that He is the one who controls what happens in the world, whether we can see the purpose for it or not, unbelievers do not have that sense of peace. To them, world powers are the ones who are in control and we can be spiraled into chaos at any moment. I cannot imagine living this way.

The emotion you are feeling right now might by sympathy, but I don’t want you to feel that. I want you to feel empathy. According to Webster, sympathy is: “a feeling or expression of sincere concern for someone who is experiencing something difficult or painful.” On the other hand, Webster says that empathy is: “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.”

Sympathy is simply feeling for someone. There is a disconnect in feeling. More like a “I’m sorry you’re going through that” but then you move on seconds later without giving them another thought. Empathy however is when you feel for someone and care deeply about what is hurting them to a point that you feel their pain like it is your own pain. Even Jesus felt empathy towards the pain of those around Him, even when He knew that he was about to heal them.

When we hear a prayer request or see someone who doesn’t know Christ, do we feel sympathy or empathy?

It wasn’t until recently that I realized the disconnect of sympathy hindered many of the times I attempted to share the gospel or pray for someone. Maybe I felt bad for them and that they were going through that, but did I make an actual effort to tell and show them that I actually cared and felt for them? It can be hard to feel empathy at times, especially when the world likes to tell us that it isn’t our problem. But maybe that is the problem. I have begun to pray that the Lord would fill me with empathy towards others and feel their problems as my own because God loves them like He loves me.

And if I truly feel empathy towards them, wouldn’t I want to give them hope? As everyone is watching the world crash and burn around them, it is up to us and is our responsibility as Christians to get up and do something about it. Get up and feel empathy towards others. It’s not easy at all. It can be hard to care, as crass and sad as that might seem. But if you were standing on the side of a road and about to see someone get run over by a truck, would you go and help them? Would you go push them out of the way?

This is how we need to view sharing our hope. Pray for the empathy to share your faith or ask someone if you can pray for them. Do it without reservation. Do it with the desperation of shoving someone out of the road. Don’t hesitate, that’s what Satan wants.

Just this week I was asking someone at the horse stables if I could pray for them. But the moment I was about to go over, I began to think “Well I’m busy right now, if she happens to pass me I’ll do it then.” I stopped myself then and there. That was not empathy. I knew she was going through a hard time, and I didn’t care enough to take time to go and let her know that I cared about her? That God cares about her?

Don’t hesitate. Share however God has put it on your heart. The world needs our hope and our certainty that we have in Christ. Everyone else might not know if nations are rising and setting, but we know who is controlling it all. We have a promise that Jesus will come back for us. Don’t keep that hope to yourself.

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” – Revelation 22:20

Thanks for Braving this Battle with me! Comment down below your thoughts!

-Kennedy

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