The Fragility of the Powerful
Scripture Reading — Isaiah 40:24; Luke 1:46-55
No sooner are [rulers] planted . . . no sooner do they take root . . . than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
The powerful people of this world tend to think they are strong and mighty, but they are fragile. They think they have the control of history in their hands, but they do not. Their stability is provisional. Their strength is temporary. Their wealth is volatile.
Their fragility contrasts with the omnipotence of God. Their instability contrasts with the eternity of God. Political rulers are fragile and temporary, but God is all-powerful and permanent. Scripture says people “are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow” (Psalm 144:4), but God is unshakably the same “from everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 90:2).
God controls the nations. He raises up kingdoms and overthrows them. He gives politicians and other leaders positions of power and takes them down. Compared to the Lord, rulers on the earth are barely planted and rooted before they wither. All it takes is a breath from the Almighty to blow them away like chaff.
Rulers who try to defy God do not prevail. The arrogant may try to stand against the righteous God, but they will only be swept away.
Put your trust in God, our only true refuge and strength!
Almighty God, teach us not to trust in fragile human power but in your eternal strength. Humble the proud and uphold the faithful, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
About the author — Hernandes Dias Lopes
Rev. Hernandes Dias Lopes is the Portuguese ministry leader for ReFrame Ministries. He also serves as director of Luz Para o Caminho (“Light for the Way”), an organization formed in partnership between ReFrame and the Presbyterian Church of Brazil. Rev. Lopes travels around the world to preach and teach the Bible. He and his wife, Udemilta (Tinha), live in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and have two children.
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