As I write this dear readers, I am preparing for a job interview tomorrow that is really big and I am in a bit of nervousness. I have the two great anxieties that I won’t get the job and that I will get it. It is each case for various reasons and I’m sure many of us can think of situations where we’ve wanted something to happen and dreaded that something happening as well.
Interestingly, this is the same night I’m writing about “Thy Kingdom Come” in the Lord’s Prayer.
Some of you are wondering, “What does being afraid about something and the coming of the kingdom have in common?”
I believe the kingdom comes by the spreading of the gospel and that means the reign of YHWH in the hearts of his people. While I believe this will be a physical reality also in the new creation, it is not yet. That will come to fruition fully at the second coming of Christ. For now though, we are to live our lives submitting to his kingdom.
That means that for the first step, it is to become a Christian. It is to recognize that this is YHWH’s reign that is being talked about and not your own. Many people think becoming a Christian is simple. In some ways, it is, but if you think about it, it is one of the most monumental decisions you can ever make. Nay. THE MOST MONUMENTAL DECISION!
This is giving up your claim of deity.
Of course, we all know that that claim really isn’t given up easily. In an earlier blog, I have stated that sin is divine treason and every time you sin, you are claiming that you are God and that God is not. The process of sanctification is putting that claim of deity behind and moving on. It is asking forgiveness when you sin realizing that God is still king.
For someone who tends to be anxiety-ridden, like myself, it is recognizing that he is Lord and in charge of all things. It is simply seeing him as he really is and the reason some situations seem stressful to us, is not because of the situation that we are facing, but because of the way we perceive God in the situation.
The prayer for the kingdom to come is a prayer for God to break through in your life. This isn’t about some miraculous event, but about realizing who he is. It’s about wanting to become a more devoted follower of him than before. Kingdom living means that you really live as if YHWH is king and not as if you are.
It means right living in response to biblical truth. Is Christianity just a belief system you honor with your lips, or are you really willing to honor it with your heart? For all of us, this is a continuous battle. If you’re finding yourself struggling, good. It means you are taking the battle seriously. Those who are not do not even realize that they are struggling.
Through the spread of the gospel and the surrendering of men to YHWH, God’s kingdom will come. May it be so!
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