The Herod’s of our lives
Have you ever wondered why God didn’t take away Herod’s life when he was striving and scheming to kill the infant Jesus, HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON? He is Herod the Great. What’s great about a man who killed infants? But that’s not the issue.
Upon a well thought out scheme of execution from Herod, God who sees the hearts and minds of all, took the three wise men from the East through a different way because of Herod’s wicked intent (Matt 2:13).
Since Herod could not get the details he needed from the Magi, he thought that he would kill the infant Jesus by killing those within His age range( Matt 2: 16). So, why would God not strike Herod dead in order to save the lives of innocent children including that of baby Jesus. Why allow Herod to live on to die later?
Now, let’s juxtapose this with another Herod, Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great, one of the few Roman rulers of the area to persecute the church (Acts 1:1), who beheaded James the brother of John (Acts 12:2), who arrested and imprisoned Peter the Apostle ( Acts 12:3-4), who accepted his public proclamation as God (Acts 12: 21- 22), and therefore was struck down on the spot with worms by God’s angel (Acts 12:23).
Why would God strike down Herod Agrippa I immediately but would not strike down a man whom He knows his intent to kill his only Son and God, or at least to prevent the death of the innocent children ( Matt 2:16)? In fact, God even gave Herod the Great time by telling Joseph, “stay there until I tell you” (Matt 2:12).
This is exactly what many of us encounter while praying for the death of an evident persecutor: a tyrant, a murderer, an evil witch be it male or female, a land grabber, a rapist, the evil politicians, and what have you. Yet, inspite of these prayers for death, many of them still work about and jollificate as if you just started applying fertilizer to their evil.
However, we must always understand that God has his own ways (Isaiah 55:8-9, Romans 11:33-36) , and so instead of crying and dying silently because our enemies are still alive, use that moment to pray for God’s protection, mercy and wisdom, handing your battle entirely to God trustingly, while doing what you ought to do like Joseph’s family who protected themselves by going to Egypt. Then you will see how God fights battles.
However, don’t think that God MUST fight the battle in your own way. If you trust in God truly, allow Him to fight the battle in his own ways. FOR TO FIGHT THE BATTLE, HE WILL.