War
There is military unrest in many parts of the world just now. This actually is nothing new. Over the last 3,500 years in our world, there have been only 268 in which peace reigned. Hundreds of millions of people have died in war, or as in the case with the current war in the Ukraine, many people are dying simply due to one man’s lust for power.
Some think that mankind can be educated to the point where he will never desire to resort to brutal force in the settlement of problems. That theory is certainly proven wrong in this case. There are three questions that many people ask concerning wars. Why do wars occur, why does God permit them to take place and will we see peace in our generation?
The current situation in Ukraine and other places in the world call for an answer to these questions. Why do wars occur?
Wars sometimes occur as the judgment of God.
- God brought judgement against Assyria. (Isaiah 10:5-17).
- God brought judgement against Jerusalem for her idolatry (Ezekiel 14:13-17).
- God brought judgment against Judah (Daniel 1:1-2).
- God warned the children of Israel what would happen to them for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15-66).
Wars sometimes occur because of Satanic deception.
- Lucifer’s own sin was one of SELF WILL – “I will be like the most high.” It is the sin that sealed his final destiny.
- Satan plants this same desire into the hearts of mankind.
- This is the sin of Vladimir Putin that caused him to suddenly decide to murder thousands of Ukrainians. This is the sin that will seal his final destiny.
Wars sometime occur because of the sin of mankind. The history of Israel, Judah and other nations in the Old Testament clearly demonstrate this truth. God warned His people of this potential before they were ever in the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 28:15-66).
- The sin of the people provoked God unto anger causing His judgment (Isaiah 1:2-4).
- Man’s sin brought God’s judgment by way of a famine (Ezekiel 14:13).
- Man’s sin brought serious judgment, including destruction upon Jerusalem (2 Chronicles36:15-21).
- Habakkuk could not understand why God would allow another nation to make havoc upon the people of God (Habakkuk 1:1-4).
There are times when God permits wars whether we understand His ways or not. We must remember that His way is perfect and there are purposes in history that God accomplishes through war.
- There are times when He does so to make us all aware of our temporal stay here on earth and the eternal existence of God (Exodus 7:17; 8:10; Ezekiel 28:22-23).
- War reminds mankind of the fruitlessness of sin (Jeremiah 2;13, 14, 19).
- War brings correction in the life of both nations and the individuals that comprise them (Genesis 14; Jeremiah 30:11). It is amazing how many people turn to God during war. How much longer will God put up with the corruption in our nation and in our government? They have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger (Isaiah 1:4).
Will we see peace in our generation? You can imagine that there are people just now, all over our world, crying out for peace. Peace will never arrive until people and nations turn their lives over to Jesus Christ. As long as the prince of the power of the air is allowed his freedom prior to his entombment in the Lake of Fire, the earth will not experience peace.
Yet there is a personal peace, that every believer can experience if he separates himself from the course of this world. The psalmist wrote, Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them (Psalm 119:165). You can experience that now, though there is coming a time when Christ will return and reign on this earth for a thousand years and for the first time since the fall of man, there will be total peace upon the whole earth. The few years that this earth did experience peace in the past are something we can only see as a miracle. God states in Haggai 2:7, And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts (Haggai 2:7). The authority of Christ will overrule the curse of sin that is upon the earth for a thousand years and that should remind all of us concerning the peace that is possible as we submit daily to the authority of Jesus Christ in our lives. Any time self-rule competes with Christ’s rule, there can never be peace.
We need to pray for the people of Ukraine. Pray for the people trying to flee this nation, for their protection, and for their preservation wherever they go. Pray for the safety of those who remain in the country. Pray for families who will be separated forever because of this war. Pray that many will find comfort and help in turning their lives over to Jesus Christ.
Then pray for the people of Russia who for the most part have no knowledge what their wicked leader is doing. Pray that they might see him for what he is and that there will be many in this communist nation who will turn their lives over to Jesus Christ. Pray for the Spirit of God to bring conviction upon Vladimir Putin, that he might see himself as God sees him and will turn and repent of His sin against the people of Ukraine and that he will trust Christ as his own personal Lord and Savior.
Some of the ideas for this material came from Dr. Howard Sugden, who for many years pastored the South Baptist Church in Lansing, Michigan.
George Stiekes serves as a Lay Pastor at Bethany Bible Church in Hendersonville, NC.
See here for a more complete bio of brother Stiekes extensive ministry. We republish his material by permission.
Photo by Kevin Schmid on Unsplash