What in the world is going on? That’s a good question this week. After weeks and months of speculation, war has erupted as Russia invaded Ukraine in the largest military action in Europe since World War II.
We see the attack on Ukrainian cities, airports, and military facilities with our own eyes, often in real-time because of technology. Frightening video has emerged of Russian fighter jets, attack helicopters, and tanks as they advance in Ukraine on three fronts. The images of Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses furiously targeting Russian warplanes demonstrate the sheer violence and horror of war.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been displaced, instantly becoming refugees as they flee the cities, and many leave their country altogether. They, with their families, are fleeing for their lives. Others are sheltering in place in their homes or the subways. It is difficult for us to fathom such fear and horror they are experiencing.
The biggest tragedy is the loss of life. The number of dead and wounded at this time is unknown, mainly due to the fog of war, but in the coming days and weeks, we will know more and mourn with those who mourn.
And what about Christians in Ukraine? We have received reports that many of them gathered in their churches to pray the night before the invasion began. Stuart Rowell is one of our VBC GO Partners who works in Central and Eastern Europe. Yesterday, he sent an update from his affiliated organization European Christian Mission (ECM). As of yesterday, all their workers were safe, but they asked for prayer for them and all Ukraine believers.
It is hard to imagine how difficult and harrowing this must be for Christian families as they take shelter and pray that our Lord would be merciful to them, bring peace to their country, and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ would advance amid the conflict of war. Please join in praying for all believers in Ukraine, for churches, missionaries, pastors, Christian families as they seek safety and God’s protection.
So, what in the world is going on? What is going to happen next? We can’t know all that is happening or how this current crisis will turn out. But we do know with certainty the One who brings peace and assurance.
The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:16, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
Who, indeed, knows the mind of the Lord? No one. God is the Eternal One, Creator of all things, and in His Son, “all things hold together” (Col 1:16). He is sovereign in all things, knows all things, and “His understanding is inscrutable” (Is 40:28). As the Apostle Paul said elsewhere, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Romans 11:33)
So, the answer to the question, “Who can instruct Him,” is no one. And the answer to the question, “What in the world is going on” is, “God alone.” Paul quoted the prophet Isaiah, “Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge and informed Him of the way of understanding?” The expected answer is, “No one.”
Who knows what is going to happen with Russia and Ukraine? How will it turn out? Will China now invade Taiwan? What will happen in our own country as we deal with the fallout? I don’t know, you don’t know, but God knows.
We need to put all this in perspective, God’s perspective, that is.
Isaiah continues in that same passage, “Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust” (Is 40:15).
Ever wonder where the saying, “It’s just a drop in a bucket” came from? It comes from the Bible, in Isaiah 40:15. The nations (Russia, Ukraine, the USA, China, etc.) are nothing more than a drop in a bucket to Him. All the nations of the world amount to no more than a drop in a bucket. In fact, that is even stretch when comparing the infinite with the finite. This is the God with whom we have to do. This is the God who calls us, and He is faithful.
Since we cannot know the mind of the Lord to instruct Him, we must rest in His sovereign will being played out in the events of the day and around the world. Later, the prophet Isaiah would say this,
55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Rest in the fact that God not only knows a lot more than us, but He knows all things. His thoughts and understanding of any situation are infinitely higher than our own. It is good to know that Russia, Ukraine, and even our own country are infinitesimally small to Him. We cannot begin to comprehend what He is doing, but we trust that what is happening is His doing.
Over the past few weeks, world leaders have sought to change the mind of Vladimir Putin. They have tried to persuade him to seek peace rather than war. In vain, they worked to stop Him from invading Ukraine.
But this we know, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Proverbs 21:1). There is only One who can change the hearts and minds of world leaders. It is our Lord God.
Trusting in our Great God and through our Lord Jesus Christ, we must hold onto the truth that God in His sovereignty controls all the movements of world history. It cannot be otherwise. He is God, and there is no other. He knows the end from the beginning, for He is the Alpha and Omega. Everything in world history is moving inexorably toward the fulfillment of His plan for His glory. In that we can rest.
Therefore, we are the last people on earth who should be wringing our hands in fear and despair, for our God reigns. He indeed does reign. The times and epochs are in His hands. With that, I leave you with the Word of the Lord through Daniel:
“Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to men of understanding.”
Daniel 2:20-21