There is a poignant epitaph in the book of Judges. “In those days the nation had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” It’s the last verse in the book in fact, just to make the point. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. The chaos, directionless and complete lack of leadership in this 400 year time period is the ultimate anti-climax, coming immediately after the spectacularly heroic leadership of Moses and Joshua.

Does it feel, in part, a lot like that lately?

God routinely defies human expectation and reason. In so doing, He spites our sensibilities and uses unconventional methods – including His silences (and even the least likely people), to push His kingdom agenda in a world that is hell-bent on erasing his signature on creation and denying His hand in shaping global affairs.

The world (as we know it) forever changed at the turn of this decade. Going on, there are very few things that will add up to make meaning. It’s a slow fade into a dystopian future that is bereft of rhyme and reason. But there’s method in the madness. If you choose to look up, that is.

“When you see a cloud rising in the west,” Jesus said, “You immediately say, ‘It is going to rain,’ and that is how it turns out. And when you feel the wind begin to blow from the south, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it happens. You know how to analyze and intelligently interpret the appearance of the earth and sky in order to forecast the weather, but why do you not intelligently interpret this present time?