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JANUARY 28, 2011
THE RISE AND FALL

All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. (Isaiah 14:18, NIV)

In Melbourne, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are already done, on their way home before the men’s final. In San Diego, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are desperately fighting against the slide that has seen Europeans Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer seize their respective spots atop the world rankings.

Certainly we’ve not seen the last of the leading men. They are too talented for that. And too competitive. But age and arthritis are daunting conspirators, as are the consequences of our own poor living. Eventually, they have their way.

And yet, there is more than a good bit of naturalism in such a suggestion—that it is time that undoes everyone. We need to be giving credit where it is due. It is God who establishes and deposes the leaders of men.

In some historical contexts, this has been reason for celebration. When wicked rulers have arisen and forced capitulation from the people they conquer and govern, these people cannot see the death of such a leader come soon enough. The governed always cheer the end of unjust rule. There are places in our own time where “the common man” awaits such a day, where the mourning for a deposed or dying dictator will be no louder than a whisper.

But for you and me, there is another important lesson here. If God refreshes a nation by ending the rule of its leader—even those who have done well—does this not mean that He will do the same in our own life?

The God who hears our anguished cry and pulls us from the pit is the same One who arrests our successes in due time, that we may not come to depend on them rather than on Him. Ongoing ease is an ever-present contender to rich faith in God.

Change comes. It comes in the sporting world, comes to governmental halls, comes to your business and my health. This should not surprise us. It is God at work. What it should do is turn our attention anew to Him.

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Jeff Hopper

January 28, 2011

Copyright 2011 Links Players International

The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.

TODAY’S WRITER
Jeff Hopper is the editor of Links Players publications, including the Links Daily Devotional, and is COO of Links Players International. He played two years of college golf and now gets out about three times a month, except in the spring when he spends his afternoons coaching a local high school team.