Has God Fallen Off His Throne?

“But to the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice.’” (Hebrews 1:8 NLT)

When we’re in the midst of a “storm” it seems it will never end. A mountain of debt, physical issues that seem only to worsen, relational strain that continues to intensify, and a thousand other problems drive us to the edge of breaking. In those difficult times we’re tempted to believe God must have fallen off His throne.

Ron Hutchcraft wrote in a recent devotional: “A calm captain who has been through these fearful storms before, who knows everything will be okay at the end of the day and has brought so many others safely through. Now, that’s what makes the difference when it feels like the storm is going to sink you. If you belong to Jesus Christ, you have a Captain like that! That’s why the writer of ‘Amazing Grace’ could write: ‘Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come. ‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.’”

Walking with Jesus doesn’t necessarily make life easier, but it absolutely makes it better. I’ve learned a sure-fire way of confirming the Lord hasn’t vacated His throne – I visit it multiple times a day, and He’s always there!

What storm are you facing? There are a couple of things you need to remember. Write them down or memorize them to defeat the enemy’s lies head on. First, nothing touches your life except it passes through the filter of God’s permission, and you never walk alone. If God has allowed it, He has a reason, and He will walk with you every step of the way.

God will never tempt you to do evil. The Lord’s prayer says: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Some translations say: “…but deliver us from the evil one.” Why is that important? The tempter, Satan, will use anything possible to distract you from listening to and following Jesus. But the only power Satan has over a Jesus-follower’s life is the power we allow him to have.

The closer we walk with Jesus the more clearly, we hear His voice and the more closely we can follow His commands. That includes His command to go into daily battle with the enemy of our soul. Because God is sovereign, no power in heaven or on earth can do anything except He grant His permission. That, of course, gives rise to a lot of misunderstanding and “blame.”

When a loved one dies in a tragic accident or suffers because of a disease that has robbed them of their ability to function, it can give rise to the temptation to blame God and shake our fist in His holy face because we believe He was behind all the pain, fear, anger, and suffering we experience. Could God stop it? Of course, but why doesn’t He?

The simple answer is – because of sin’s rampage on all of humanity. But the same God who allowed His only sinless, perfect Son to suffer unjustly to pay the penalty for our sin, frees us from our obligation to follow in our ancestor’s steps, liberating our spirit and delivering us from the tentacles of satanic influence. He fills us with His holy presence and promises that from the moment we yield our life and allegiance to Jesus, we will never take a single step or a single breath apart from His presence with us.

Sin demands death and suffering, and because we’re a part of the human family, we’re subject to all the implications of that horrible sentence. But because our Savior sits on His throne, He promises that whatever storms we must face on this planet, we’ll never face alone. But even beyond that wonderful promise, He has gone before us to prepare for us a place of perfection and bliss the likes of which we can’t begin to imagine. And it’s all because of His amazing grace.

One day, sooner than we can imagine, all the “storms” of this life will pass, and we’ll spend an eternity free of pain and suffering of any kind. Not because we deserve it, but because our King and Lord of heaven’s armies is on our side, and because He’s never left His throne – and never will!

“So let the lion roar, let the bear threaten, let the leopard pursue. There is a throne with authority over every beast, every storm, every disease, every enemy, every tragedy, and your awesome Lord sits on that throne.” (Ron Hutchcraft)

Blessings, Ed 😊