The Obvious Thing To Do

I was going to make a point to stick to discoursing for a bit on grace, as it has taken time for it to start sinking in to both my head and heart. But I came across something along a different topic that I believe is relevant for today.

Many people may not like the current President, feeling his policies and and strategies will do more harm to the country rather than help. Even if that were the case, there is an obvious thing to do...

Pray.

I was reading in Jeremiah, but before I proceed, let me set the stage. Israel is in captivity. And the Lord is planning on keeping them there for a while. False prophets would tell the people, "very soon you will be liberated!" But the Lord told Jeremiah to tell the people the truth; they would be held captive for seventy years. As such, this is what the Lord told the people...

Jeremiah 29:4-7
4 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

Thankfully, I as an American am not finding myself in bondage to another nation; I am still in the most free country that I know of. But if the instruction for slaves and captives is to pray for their city, to pray for God to prosper where they live... how much more so should we do the same, who live in a free nation!

If the Lord prospers Knoxville, we will prosper. If the Lord prospers Tennessee, we will prosper. If the Lord prospers America, we will prosper... Even though I disagree with the policies of the President (certainly a captive would certainly disapprove of the nation holding them...), the obvious thing is to pray the Lord blesses and prospers our land.

The Lord told His people, in essence, "don't worry about the current state of things... keep growing in number. Build houses for yourselves, raise families and look forward to grandchildren. Don't let the current state of things keep you from continuing to increase! Rather realize that if I bless these cities that hold you, I will be blessing you too!" (Justin's Paraphrase)

So what to do about the current state of things... Sheila said it a while back at church... the saints need to be praying for the Lord to bless Knoxville! That is the will of the Lord. And it is also His will to pray for our leaders, which includes the President.

Sheila said it a while back, but I'm now seeing it myself. This is the will of God, to pray the Lord bless the President and our cities... And plus, it really does seem like the obvious thing to do.