Quite frequently, something we are learning about in school will really strike a chord with me, will strengthen my faith in a living, active God and trust in Him. Every now and then, it will be so personal as to speak to something I am currently struggling with and will encourage me. Such was the case tonight as I looked over tomorrow’s history.
We are in the middle of the Renaissance/Reformation period. It’s a period of history that was full of hypocrisy, spiritual decay in the church leadership, immense treachery and deception even among church leaders. In fact, corrupt church leaders, with the cooperation of civil authorities, enacted the Spanish Inquisition which created a reign of terror that killed, imprisoned for life or impoverished estimates of 100,000 people. It was during this time that Niccolo Machiavelli, author of The Prince, determined that religion was a joke! Much later, it was this writing that became a how-to handbook for such figures as Italy’s Mussolini and Germany’s Adolf Hitler. During Machiavelli’s lifetime, the church was simply a means to power and wealth. It was NOT a heart-felt ministry. Everywhere he looked, it seemed the guys in the driver’s seat(including prominent church leaders) were the cheaters, liars, bribers, assassins, invaders, and especially, the cruel. This increased his own belief that
“In the actions of all men and especially princes, where there is no court of appeal, the end is all that counts.”
and
“It is not necessary for a prince to have all the above named qualities(faithfulness, integrity, loyalty), but it is very necessary to seem to have them.”
Machiavelli lived at the same time as another famous man, but this one responded very differently to what he saw: Martin Luther. During Luther’s lifetime, as most of us know, the Reformation exploded! Most, if not all of us, know of his infamous 95 Thesis that was nailed on the door of the Wittenberg church in Germany in 1517. In fact, this event often is marked as the beginning of the Reformation. But, it wasn’t. 150 years before Luther was born, another young man, John Wycliffe, grasped the fact that the church of their day had let people down. Their leaders had valued power over truth and because of that, de-emphasized the importance of the individual and made God seem out of reach of everyday folks. Wycliffe was so fired with the then-controversial idea that people should be able to read the Bible themselves that he translated the Latin Bible into English so all could read. He believed ferevently that everyone would benefit from personally knowing God’s truth and having a direct relationship with him….and was quite persecuted for this stance.
Jan Hus, born about 40 years after Wycliffe, grasped the same ideas. But, it seemed as if the Reformation fizzled out because not much happened for the next 100 or so years. Then, viola!, Luther comes on the scene; Reformation ideals spread like wildfire; the importance of individuals began to take serious root throughout Europe(which fanned our fore-fathers beliefs that became the Declaration of Independence and later, the Constitution) and even influenced the music of the church.
Within 28 years of Luther’s birth, numerous men rose to carry the torch of the Reformation: Ulrich Zwingli, Thomas Muntzer, Conrad Grebel, Michael Sattler, Menno Simons, William Tyndale, and John Calvin. After almost 150 years of silence, within 28 years, the ideas and beliefs of Wycliffe and Hus were gaining rapid acceptance and spreading through Europe and the entire known world!
So, it got me to thinking about this timing and how easily we get discouraged when things don’t seem to be going the way we like; or, as quickly; or, God reveals new truth to us and it doesn’t quite get the acceptance we’d hoped it would. I find so often, I get weary much too quickly. Just this week,I was telling Papa that I don’t mind being a forerunner in many things. But, I reminded Him, I don’t have the stamina to last very long in that role. I get weary quite quickly. And, He reminded me that I need to learn and build stamina. It is HIS timing that brings ALL things to fruition.
Now, I have no idea why there was such a break between the early Reformation leaders and the explosion of ideas that occurred in the early 16th century, but God knew!There is a very real possibility that satan thwarted God’s plans. We see that in several instances in the Bible. Daniel comes to mind, as well as Paul. When satan is thwarting plans, strong, confident intercession-warfare intercession-is absolutely necessary. Intercession that realizes the authority we have in Christ and walks in that authority.
So, my response to this week’s history lesson is two-fold: God will prevail in His time. Be patient during those times that God’s plan seems to have been stalled. It may seem like things have grown cold, when through God’s eyes, they are actually simmering quite nicely. While history doesn’t record it quite as dramatically or often as Luther’s work, Wycliffe commissioned lay preachers, whom he trained to preach the simply message of the gospel. They in turn, took portions of the Bible in English with them and encourage those who were interested to write out copies and meet together to read and study the Bible. His followers persisted as a secret, underground church movement, carefully circulating hand-copied portions of the Bible….and were enthusiastic supporters of the ideas of Martin Luther when his writings reached the shores of England! Hus left behind a strong, growing church and his followers continued to exist through the years of the Reformation, Counter-Reformation. They are known today as the Moravian Church.
And secondly, intercession is absolutely necessary to bringing God’s will to earth as it is in heaven. It is incumbent upon us to continually intercede, fighting spiritually against the hosts of the enemy, and work to bring about God’s plans. Know that even when satan’s efforts to thwart God’s plans seem to be working….they will not work for long!!!!