“In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.” – Luke 2:1
Scripture reading: Isaiah 55:10-11
Humans share with God the power of words – words spoken and words written. The power of language is one way God created us in His image to rule in His name. However, we have all experienced the power of human words for good or evil.
When a girl in your class skins her knee, and you sit beside her and ask, “Are you okay?” you are using the power of words for good. When you run and tell a teacher she is hurt, you are using the power of words for good. When you say something nasty to someone because you want to hurt him, you are using your words for evil.
The more power a human ruler has, the more power his words have. In Luke 2:1, Caesar Augustus speaks with power. He issues a decree, an executive order. He wants every person in his vast empire registered so he can track them, tax them and rule them more efficiently.
Caesar’s decree shall accomplish what he purposes and shall succeed in the thing for which he sent it (see Isaiah 55:11). Little does Caesar realize, however, that his decree is simply a tool in the hands of the Sovereign Lord of heaven and earth as He works out His sovereign decree to save His chosen ones and His fallen world in Jesus Christ. Remember that the next time you chafe under a human decree that complicates your life.
Suggestions for prayer
Thank God for the sovereign power of His word to save us and to govern history, even using human decrees. Pray for grace to rest in His sovereign power when troubled by human decrees.
Rev. Richard Zekveld is the pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church (PCA) in South Holland, Illinois, a Chicagoland suburb. Rev. Zekveld, his wife Nancy, and their five children have lived in the community of South Holland for seventeen years. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.
