Vince Deagler

i think it is safe to say we are living in some pretty crazy days.  the middle east is in chaos.  the weather is out of control (depending on where you live).  the economy is depressing, and the politicians do not seem to be up to the challenge of addressing these problems.  the nation is becoming more divided.  and with unemployment high, commodity prices on the rise, housing depressed, and work place unrest, there does not seem to be a light at the end of this tunnel.

as i contemplate this i often think of that passage in psalms which asks…”why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing…”?  (ps. 2:1)  in my estimation we have a clash of world views here.  on one side we have the humanist, the secularist, the one who rejects the idea of a creator god to whom we are accountable, who has everything under his control.  the secularist sees man as the ultimate.  he claims man can do anything.  that man controls his destiny.  they believe this completely.  that is why they think they can fix the economy with things like tarp and stimulus bills.  that is why they think they can control the weather through global warming legislation.  that is why they think they can resolve the kind of problems we see in the middle east.  they think they can do anything…everything.  there is a part of me that thinks the harder they try the worse things get.  and because that is true, there is a lot of rage out there.  you see the secularist has gone all in, if this doesn’t work where do they turn?  how do they explain it?  what does that mean to their worldview?  it is a big problem…at least for them.

i am not a humanist.  i believe in god and have surrendered my life into his control.  i believe history is his story, that he has everything under control, that by him all things hold together (col. 1:17).  i can trust him to help me navigate these tough times.  i believe he has the answer for everything…and that his answers (and only his answers) work.  i have not bought into the delusional secularists who think they can somehow control nature…god does that, and as far as i can tell, he will continue to do that right up until he brings the world as we know it to his appointed end.  this goes for the economy and world governance as well.  in fact i think it extends to just about everything. 

there is no doubt there is a lot of raging out there.  i think a lot of it is tied to the growing frustration that we have gone all in, we have played by the rules, done everything we were told to do and things just aren’t working out as we expect or want.  if that describes you, let me offer you a suggestion.  if you are beginning to figure out life is bigger than you.  that it is more complex than you could have imagined.  that there are problems you and i have no ability to fix or control.  that the so called experts don’t have the ability to address what plagues us.  may i suggest you turn to god.  he is the one that says “come to me”  all who are hungry, thirsty, weary, fearful, troubled, injured, needy, etc.  will that change our immediate circumstance?  probably not.  time marches on to gods appointed conclusion which may or may not be a happy trails experience for us as individuals (after all we do live in a broken world).  but even when that journey is difficult, as it is right now for so many, 2 things are true.  i have god with me every step of the way helping me navigate the trouble in a way that results in personal growth and future reward in the eternal state.  (you see i do not see this life as the zenith of my experience, i will live with god forever in eternity and i believe my status there is dependent on how i live here and now).  secondly, i do not have the frustration evidenced in our world when my plans don’t work out as i want and expect.  i am not god, when i act like i am i open myself up to all kinds of frustration.  so why not come to grips with a reality that is staring us in the face.  we are not god.  we do not, cannot control and fix everything.  but there is a god in heaven who loves us, has our best interest in mind, and invites us to come to him.  when we do, well lets just say our world view is drastically changed and there are many good things that grow out of that.  of course you are welcome to keep raging, i have been there and done that.  i have now chosen a different road and i invite you to join me.  blessings, vince.