Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. 2 How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth! 3 He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. 4 He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah

5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. 7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. 8 God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. 9 The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.

If God is really in control of all the nations and he is really the one who puts rulers in power, why do we see all the ungodliness and corruption in the political powers today? Why do nations come to power that deny his existence and even openly fight against his will? Why would he allow a nation that is built on his authority to digress to the point that his name cannot be used in publicly funded assemblies? To these and a host of similar questions we simply acknowledge that we don’t always have the answers. What we do know is that the same questions were being asked at times by the Psalmist and more often by some of the prophets of the Old Testament. At times God gave answers and at times he was silent. God allows us (as individuals as well as nations) to make our own choices. We can serve him or we can reject him but this does not diminish his control or sovereignty.

Instead of questioning him, his power and his wisdom, what we need to do is trust him and praise his majesty. We need to give him honor and glorify him in all we are and all we do. The greatest honor we can give is our faith in him being demonstrated by serving him and following his will. As the world around us becomes increasingly wicked, the more difficult it may be for us to remain faithful to him. However, like Noah and like Lot of old, we can continue to serve him and obey him even when we are a minority in that devotion. We can continue to recognize his greatness and praise him in song, in word and in our lives each day. We cannot answer for God but we can know that his decisions and his actions are always right!

O God, please help me to live for you today. Increase my faith so that I can stand for you and your will, regardless of the world around me. Help me to share the good news of your Son and the salvation that comes thru him. Please give me the peace that only you can give, even in the midst of trials and problems. Help me to use all that I have from you and all that I am to help others and to glorify your name. Forgive me when I fail. In Jesus name.

May God bless each of us as we live for him today.