Remembering God’s mercy (Nov.2023)

November is a month for remembering. A great many people today commemorate the Gunpowder Plot of 5 November 1603 with a bonfire and fireworks. On the same date, in 1688, William III of Orange landed at Torbay, and was offered the British throne in place of the Jacobite kings. William’s arrival led some years later to the establishing of the royal Hanoverian line to which our present Royal Family belongs.

Chiefly, though, in November we commemorate the victorious end, and all the fallen, of both World Wars. The date is taken from the signing of the Armistice on 11 November 1918 which ended the First World War. Ever since, the nearest Sunday to 11 November has been observed as Remembrance Sunday, which the nation has marked with a nationwide two minutes of silent remembrance, both at the Cenotaph in Whitehall and in tens of thousands of churches.

Among the many things we need to remember is the fact that God is in control of every event which takes place in the world, including the decisions and actions of nations, and how merciful God has been to the people of Britain. In neither of the two Wars has Britain been invaded.

How do we know that God is in control? The Bible tells us.   In Daniel 5:23, God tells King Belshazzar, King of Judah: God “holds your breath in His hand.” On that same day, Belshazzar was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the Kingdom. In Daniel 2:21, it says of God: He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings.

In the New Testament, God tells us: There is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. [Romans 13:1].

This is true today. There are many kinds of governments ruling the nations of the world, but God can bring any of them down at any time.

Consequently, we can take comfort from the fact that in all man’s fears and human crises, God’s purposes will triumph and be accomplished.