Some years ago while traveling abroad, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit the grave of Winston Churchill, at St. Martins Church in Bladon, England. As I sat at the foot of his grave, I felt a strong sense of comfort and safety. My thoughts fell on just how close Britain and the Commonwealth had come to defeat and utter destruction in the Second World War. The world would not be the same even now if God had not directly intervened.
Thinking about how close Britain came to defeat, it was profoundly comforting to recognize that even against the gravest of adversities, God remains in control. In the depths of global war, He chose to deliver Great Britain and her allies, as it was not yet His time for them to fall. He ensured that the right people were in the right places and used men like Winston Churchill to ensure that His will would be done!
The fact that God sets up and brings down world leaders is an important lesson that Nebuchadnezzar, one of the mightiest kings of ancient Babylon, needed to learn the hard way. The fourth chapter of the book of Daniel records for us the story of God removing King Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity in order to teach him humility. He lived for seven years with the beasts of the field, “eating grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws” (Daniel 4:33). This humiliation was to teach him “That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men” (v. 17). Surely it was God’s will that Winston Churchill was in office at the right time so that the Almighty would use him as an essential component for the deliverance of Great Britain from the hand of Adolf Hitler and the Axis powers!
In looking at Winston Churchill’s life leading up to the Battle of Britain, it becomes evident that God chose him for the job of leading England through World War II. More than just choosing him, God prepared him for the job. It was no coincidence that the right person was in the right position at the right time! What is even more remarkable is that, throughout history, God has used people who are unfamiliar with His laws and do not have His Holy Spirit to do His purpose.
This raises one important question. If God, on occasion, prepares individuals who do not know His laws, and do not have His Holy Spirit for extraordinary tasks, then what does He have in store for those He calls to be a part of the body of Christ, the “little flock” (Luke 12:32, John 14:6)? What is God’s purpose for those who spend their lives striving to grow in His righteous character and who are willing to give up everything to follow Him?
Daniel also gives us a hint at what God has in store for the righteous: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:2–3).
Furthermore, John tells us in Revelation that “he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations” (Revelation 2:26).
If you would like to know more about what God is prepared to do through you, please read our free booklet What Is the Meaning of Life? This booklet will show you, through the Bible, that God’s promised purpose for you is far greater than you likely recognize.