God has voted and He has chosen Julia Gillard

Has God chosen Julia Gillard for judgment and curses or for prosperity and blessings?
During my Bible Study this morning, I was struck by the notation titled: "God Is in Charge".
It read: "The contemporary world has set God to the side and ignores the divine influence on the course of human affairs. But God's decisions really do direct the world as well as the personal histories of those who trust Him. We can confidently affirm that "God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them" (Rom. 8:28).

It caused me to rethink my response to the terrible flux our nation has been through at a time when we have been blessed economically in comparison to the rest of the world. Now, I am called to respect what God has sovereignly ordained because "all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted..." - Rom. 13:1,2(a). To put it in a nutshell, "The authorities are God's servants, sent for your good." - Rom. 13:4(a). "So you must submit to them...to keep a clear conscience." - Rom. 13:5.

For me, it comes down to whether I trust God in His choice...Gillard is not for Christian Religious Education in primary schools but she is for chaplains...that's fine except that it takes away the opportunity for children to hear the gospel and then decide for themselves as to whether or not they will accept the love of Jesus Christ. For a child to reach out to a chaplain in a time of crisis, presupposes that the child understands the love of Christ. From what I have seen in my time in the primary schools as a CRE teacher....there is a great big black hole of understanding who Jesus is and what He stands for! There is more understanding of Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny than the Saviour of the World!

But God is bigger than me and He knows the hearts of men and women and He knows the future. And God is good! God is love! This gives me hope! And so I rest in His choice. I rest in His determination. "For this has been decreed by the messengers; it is commanded by the holy ones, so that everyone may know that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world. He gives them to anyone he chooses - even to the lowliest of people." (Dan. 4:17) Not even King Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of the mighty Babylonian Empire, could escape God's decree and in the end, this man who would not bow down to any authority, finally bowed down before our Holy God and declared the following praises about Him: "His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal. All the people on the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop Him or say to Him, "What do you mean by doing these things?" - Dan. 4:34(b),35. "Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All His acts are just and true, and He is able to humble the proud." - Dan. 4:37.

This is a faithful warning to Gillard and to all of us but it is also a trustworthy signpost to pray for her specifically because God can through His Holy Spirit and in His will bring her to repentance so that she too might echo Neb's famous last words! Alternatively, she and her band will have to face the music:
"He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing. They hardly get started, barely taking root, when He blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff. "To whom will you compare Me? Who is My equal?" asks the Holy One." - Dan. 40: 23,24. And there is one man that can testify to this truth - Kevin Rudd.

My response is this prayer:
"Indeed, Heavenly Father, you sit above the circle of the earth and we are like grasshoppers to you! There is no-one that can stand equal to you. There is no power on earth that can thwart your sovereign will upon our lives. Forgive us for all our attempts to usurp your authority in our lives. We are foolish to think that we can even wage war against you. Thank you for your lovingkindness towards us. Thank you for constantly reminding yourself of our helpless state - even in our rebellion! Thank you for your saving grace. Thank you for the love of Jesus Christ which gives us hope and the precious gift of a loving relationship with you. Thank you that we can return to you like the prodigal son and call out to you: "Abba Father". Thank you that you are ready to forgive! Thank you for adopting us into your family. We are your children. We pray that you would reach out to Julia Gillard and her party members and that you would work a miracle in her heart and in their hearts in the same way you turned the heart of King Neb so that they would worship you! You are the hope of our nation. You are the hope of lost souls! You are the hope of our world! May we be your faithful servants today and bring the good news of your love to lives living without hope! In Jesus name, Amen."