God's power over nations

Romans 13:1 (NKJV)

13 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

“There is no power but of God. God as the ruler and governor of the world hath appointed the ordinance of magistracy, so that all civil power is derived from him as from its original, and he hath by his providence put the administration into those hands, whatever they are that have it. By him kings reign, Prov. 8:15. The usurpation of power and the abuse of power are not of God, for he is not the author of sin; but the power itself is. As our natural powers, though often abused and made instruments of sin, are from God's creating power, so civil powers are from God's governing power.” ~Matthew Henry

Joel Belz wrote in World Magazine, 07/22/2006, an article “Tender Toughness”:  The sentence still jumps out at me from the middle of an editorial in The Wall Street Journal. It's been half a decade since I read it, but it was one of those electric expressions that you can't forget: "People want to be lightly governed," the writer said, "by strong governments."

That's what you've wanted since you were a small child. You wanted your dad to be big and strong and able to do anything you could think of—except that, when he dealt with you, it had to be with gentleness and tenderness. You wanted a policeman on the corner tough enough to handle any neighborhood bully, but who would also hoist you to his shoulders and help you find your parents when you got lost in the crowd.

Lots of muscle; lots of restraint. There's an innate yearning in almost all of us for that rare combination. When evil people rise up, we want a government with the clout to back them down. Yet we never want that clout turned on us.

In the final analysis, people want to be lightly governed by strong governments because that's how God governs. The omnipotent ruler of the universe is also the one who invites us tenderly: "Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

There is a lot to be said about the contrast of God’s use of power compared to man’s use of power. In our corrupted world man may use power for either good or evil. We see this in the contrast of nations. Leaders take power and abuse that power to beat the people into submission. In other countries leaders use power to establish trust, to make the best use of resources, and to govern fairly the people for which they are responsible for.

However when we think of God, we think of someone who loves us dearly. God’s power reins above any and all power, yet God restrains His power to show love, compassion, mercy and grace. God uses His great power to protect and still keeps His people safe and secure. We should all desire to live under God’s rule for He is just, righteous, fair, impartial, loving, caring, merciful, gracious and most of all mighty. Pray that God would guide the nations to impart His righteousness and justice to all.