Assassination Attempt

The report was shocking. How did Thomas Crooks get into a line-of-sight position after being spotted by local Trump supporters and then fire off multiple shots, killing former fire chief Corey Comperatore and critically wounding others while grazing the ear of his intended target, former president Donald Trump?[1]  But for an inch . . . had the Secret Service been more vigilant, Crooks might have been neutralized before shooting anyone.  But for an inch . . . Trump could have died.  But for an inch . . . an entire nation might have experienced gargantuan turmoil.

​Meditation
Daniel 2:19-21--The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel praised the God of heaven and declared: May the name of God be praised forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
 
We naturally fear violence and bemoan evil, but the Lord of lords is the One who determines the fate of nations (1 Timothy 6:15).  God deposes rulers and gives authority to others.  Nothing escapes His notice. No human, no plot, no agenda can thwart His will.  For this reason, Daniel, to whom God revealed the future, could praise Him and lead in the confidence of who really was in charge. Daniel would observe the rise and fall of multiple kings during his distinguished lifetime. He never lost sight of God’s omnipotence and ability to act, even when a king was tricked into throwing him into a den of lions.  He survived the plot to take his life and continued to humbly and faithfully serve his Father in heaven in the powerful nation called Babylon.
           
Our call to action is not to be afraid.  It is to pray.  It is to ask God to use us as His faithful ambassadors to proclaim to a corrupt world His love, His power to save, and His desire that we act justly, love faithfulness, and walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8). We should request God’s protection on our leaders and our nation, and ask that He soften the hearts of those who lead that they might live in dependence upon Him. Like Daniel, we should praise the name of God.  He is in charge, and as William Gurnall wrote in The Christian in Complete Armour, “One Almighty is more than many mighties.” Something to think about . . . in reveration! 
           
Inspiration
“The freedom of God consists in the fact that no cause other than Himself produces His acts and no external obstacle impedes them—that His own goodness is the root from which they all grow and His own omnipotence the air in which they all flower.”—C.S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain

©2024 Daniel York  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  To receive these devotionals, go to www.firstcause.org and click the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed, subject to the inclusion of this copyright notice.     
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)

[1] https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-timeline-59e2f4fcdf8379aa2cb5f141825d60a3