God’s Deterrent Force
I’m standing on the airfield of Barksdale Air Force Base, three miles from my house, and home of the Air Force Global Strike Command. It’s their annual air show, and the big B-52 bombers are lined up in both directions far into the distance. In front of them are jet fighters, old and new, and gigantic transport planes, inside of any of which you could fit a house—unbelievable that such behemoths could ever rise into the sky. But they do. And the bombs on display… I ask about them and learn how even the smaller ones pack such shock waves that they could take out a neighborhood. And the stunt pilots fly such complicated acrobatics in insanely tight formation that I’m speechless.
BAFB’s website says the base plays “a pivotal role in providing a large part of the nation’s deterrent force.” And what a deterrence it is.
So, given who I am, I of course think about prayer and the power of God. Yet a lot of us who pray wish we would see more of God’s power. We indeed experience healing, provision, and the mysterious hand of God working in the world. But we might like to see it be more like the power on display at Barksdale AFB.
But wait a minute…. None of those B-52s are out dropping nuclear bombs. And at least for now none of the other planes are shooting anything down or blowing anything up. And all of us—including the air force—prefer it stay that way.
I think back to the website—“deterrent force.” The primary role, and hope, is deterrence. Same with the army and the navy. And maybe the Kingdom of God.
When I think about some of the cataclysmic biblical stories and about what’s predicted for the end times, I wonder if God in his mercy is restraining the unleashing of his power and for now letting it be a deterrent force, with smaller manifestations of his power—like surgical strikes—here and there.
Perhaps we should be glad that for now God’s power is a deterrent force.
And in the meantime, our place is to live out and advance the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
Until God’s ultimate unleashing of power, how has he gifted or experienced you to play your unique part in his kingdom here on earth?
