It’s been a momentous week for Great Britain. By a relatively small margin, Britain voted to leave the European Union. No one can be sure exactly how this will work out. At the moment, the only thing that we can be certain of, is that nothing is certain.
Having children (one in utero) has made us feel all the more keenly this sense of uncertainty and insecurity. We simply don’t know what the future holds for them. But as Christians there are some comforts we cling to at times like these.
We thought we’d post a few encouraging thoughts of how the gospel can give us hope and confidence for our children’s future when all seems unsettling. It’s not exhaustive and it isn’t filled with caveats and political musings – that’s intentional. Please do feel free to comment and we could start some interesting and edifying discussions. Cathy studied international politics and modern history at uni, so this sort of debate is right up her street. But simply a political debate about Brexit is not the purpose of this post.
So, onto the encouragements…
- God is sovereign
Throughout time and history God has been in control of all things. He has seen nations and empires rise and fall. He has seen rulers come and go. Nothing surprises him and nothing happens outside of his purposes. There have been many moments like this in history – where the future seems uncertain and scary, oftentimes for God’s people themselves. But God’s unfailing character, his steadfast love, his faithful rule and his purposes in human history remain the same. What a comfort!
“O LORD, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations?“
2 Chronicles 20:6
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
Romans 13:1
- God is good and he does all things in our best interest
God is kind and generous. He loves to give us good gifts and he works in the midst of our circumstances. His working for our good doesn’t always mean we get the easy route – quite often the opposite is true! But in all things he does work for our good. He’s demonstrated that he is good in countless ways: through creating an amazing universe for us to inhabit; by revealing himself to people throughout history through prophets, miracles, the bible and ultimately Jesus; by giving Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins – making relationship with God and forgiveness possible; and by promising that he will recreate the universe in perfection in the future. If he’s got the masterplan covered, then we can trust he’s got this covered too. He is good and can be trusted.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28
- God cares
God is not some cosmic watchmaker who winds up the clock of the universe and then steps back and is uninvolved. God is relational. He is intimately involved in what is going on in the world. He hears and answers the prayers of his people, and he wants us to live peaceful and quiet lives in the nations where he’s put us. He wants us to seek the good of the places that we live. He wants our political environments to be conducive to religious freedom and civil liberties. He wants this to be the case so that everyone will have an opportunity to hear the message of Jesus.
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
1 Timothy 2:1-4
How encouraging is this!
So whatever the future holds for our children in the changes to come for Great Britain, for the European Union, and for the world we can live with hope, trusting our heavenly father with the future. Because in the end he’s sovereign, he’s good and he cares. And ultimately he loves our children far more than we do.