Proverbs 21: 1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.
This verse has a very special place in my heart. Years ago, before moving to the small town of Peterborough in Eastern Ontario, I used to commute to work every day on the busy Toronto Subway. It’s a good 45-minute ride one way, and it doesn’t take long before you get bored. One of those days, my eyes fell on a Bible advertisement inside the train that featured this verse (Proverbs 21:1). I started to meditate on it—or rather, the Holy Spirit in me started to meditate on this verse. Who is a king? The one who has authority, in most cases over the life and death of the people in his kingdom. What if he is an unjust king? That is even difficult to imagine, but that is where this verse gives great peace and assurance.
To understand this verse completely without any bias or political viewpoint, one has to read it alongside another verse from the New Testament, Romans 13:1: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.” Yes, every authority is instituted by God; now Proverbs 21:1 makes sense.
To make sense of what is going on in our world today, one should first have faith—faith in God the Father, the redeeming act of His only beloved Son Jesus, and the work of the Holy Spirit in us to bring into fruition the act of Jesus on the cross. This faith gives a strong assurance to a believer that nothing happens in one’s life (my life) apart from God’s will. In other words, Jesus is my king and I am in His kingdom. It is only from this viewpoint that we can look at the world around us and have it make so much sense, looking through the eyes of faith! (2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we live by faith, not by sight.”)
Constant Awareness
Acknowledging Jesus as King requires constantly being aware that you and I are part of His kingdom. In other words, I must always follow the number one kingdom rule: “To do what the King desires, no matter the cost.” That is what every good subject of the king would do. In Bible terms, we call it righteousness, or in other words, “God’s will.” Are you mission-ready to do God’s will?
In the Gospel reading today, Jesus defines who His Mother and brothers are: “those who hear the Word of God and do it.” This is called the obedience of faith; it does not get any simpler than that. I obey not because of what has been asked of me, but because of who has asked me to obey: Jesus, the King of kings! This is faith, and this faith sanctifies a soul, since the soul is mission-ready and always waiting to receive the order (hear the word) and action it (do it).
Faith
Do you and I have that faith? That is the question. This requires obeying God in little things, one day at a time. This requires burying my ego and will, one day at a time. Perhaps the Lord will move you to speak a word of encouragement to a stranger, or even share a Word of God with someone. Once you obey, the joy that floods your heart is incomparable to any worldly achievement that you might accomplish. Why? Because with this act of obedience, you have become a co-heir (a brother) with Jesus. That is something you have to experience personally to have that joy flood your soul; no other person’s testimony of their obedience to God’s will is going to give you that joy. You have to do it yourself. Will you please God today? (Hebrews 11:6: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”)
