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2024 saw the beginning of a profound change in the political landscape of America. Some nations are ahead of America in this, and some are behind. However, it is obviously a worldwide movement. In 2025, both the changes and the battles over them will surely spread and deepen.
It is going to be exciting and challenging to ride this extraordinary wave of change. Even so, it will leave us stronger and more stable. To prepare, we need to seek to understand what we learned through the turmoil of the last few years and apply those lessons. This will help us face the future from a more stable foundation so we can use these changes to build, not tear down.
First, we should consider that human governments can only do some things well. Governments can actually be counterproductive when they engage in things for which they have no divine mandate. When governments get out of their lane, this inevitably results in discord and division. Take education, for example. When our federal Department of Education was formed in 1979, our education system was ranked near the top of the world. It then began a long slide toward the bottom. Why has this been allowed?
When a government gets out of its lane, taking on matters for which it has no biblical or constitutional mandate, this also degrades the government’s ability to do what it is assigned to do. Peace and stability begin to return when a government stops trying to do good things it cannot do well. But few governments will do this without force. If the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) can pull this off, it will be an example for the whole world.
For example, the Scriptures are filled with exhortations to consider the poor and provide for them. However, nowhere do the Scriptures address this to government—only to individual people. The reason is that charity is meant to be personal. When it is institutionalized, it becomes dehumanizing and brings the debilitating bondage of dependence. God intends for real love and real care to be paired with charity that is exercised through real people. Love is transforming, uplifting, and liberating.
There are certainly people in government who really care for the people they serve, but we all know this is rare. Real love is not going to come through a government program or bureaucracy. It is like when you seek service at a DMV and are given a number; that number will be your identity until you leave. This practice may not be intended to be mean or disrespectful, but it is the nature of bureaucracy.
I live only a few miles from the disaster area left by Hurricane Helene. With the exception of a few places, it does not seem that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which was designed to respond to such emergencies, has even visited the area months after the catastrophe. I’m not writing this to blame the government, or FEMA, but they did not show up as they were expected, or promised. Many people who trusted in the government to help them now know that they can’t. However, many are learning from this that they can trust in God in everything. They can also trust their neighbors, and even their own resourcefulness, more than government. We should all learn this lesson.
America is known to almost always be the first to respond to natural disasters throughout in the world. Why couldn’t we be there for our own people? We’re told in 1 Timothy 5:8, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” I’m thankful to be living in a country that tries to help others in need, but something is wrong when so many of our own citizens are having to live in tents in places where the temperatures are dropping close to zero. The government help they were persuaded they could trust in is nowhere to be seen.
Since Hurricane Katrina, MorningStar has been in the disaster response ministry, and we have seen FEMA do some good work. FEMA seemed to be getting better, but in the last couple of years it seems to have reached near-total failure in its critical mission. Many people would have been better off not expecting any help from the government so they could better prepare themselves.
We need to put our trust in what is reliable. Government is to a certain degree, but we should only trust it as much as its performance record proves it is reliable. Likewise, we should only trust our own preparations to the limited degree that they are reliable. But we know God is totally reliable for everything He has promised us. Should we not devote ourselves to knowing Him and His promises more than the things that are limited?
Things may get more stable in the world for a time, but we know biblically that the time is coming when everything that can be shaken will be. Now is the time to prepare for this shaking. No human organization or government can take the place of God, and those who put their hope in anything but Him will be in desperation.
God’s government—His kingdom—is now being established. Seek it and put your trust in it. This is the only thing we can invest in that will never decrease. We are told, “there will be no end to its increase” (see Isaiah 9:7). Our nation’s government seems to be doing better now, and we should be thankful for this. Regardless, we must put our trust in God and His government. It is His government that we must begin to proclaim.
Rick Joyner
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