The hand of God

It certainly seems that there can be but one reasonable explanation for events over lo, this past week. To wit:

Tucker Carlson: ‘Divine Intervention’ Saved Trump From Assassination
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said former President Donald Trump’s miracle survival by “divine intervention” on Saturday was evidence that “God is among us” in his address to the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Thursday.

“I think even people who don’t believe in God are beginning to think, ‘Well, maybe there’s something to this actually,'” Carlson said, just days after an attempted assassin’s bullet came within an inch of killing Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. If not for divine providence through a last-second tilt of Trump’s head, he would be dead.

Unlikely as it may seem, even Trump himself—not exactly known for being any kind of God-bothering Bible-thumper before now—appears to be partial to that ineffable explanation his own self.

“I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God,” Trump said shortly after Carlson took the stage.

I don't see how any believing Christian could argue with that, or would even want to.

Carlson said that Trump, raising an instinctive fist-pump of defiance immediately after being struck by a bullet, was transformed from a “political party’s nominee or a former president or a future president” into “the leader of a nation.”

“Everything was different after that moment,” he said.

“Being a leader,” Carlson added, “is not a title. It’s organic. You can’t name someone a leader. A leader is the bravest man. That’s what a leader is.”

Yet again, Tucker nails it, in that pithy, forthright way of his. More along the "Divine intervention” lines from Lincoln Brown.

The Hand of God and Trump Fate in November
Republicans are riding high right now. Since Saturday, it has been a week of signs and wonders. And it all started when Donald Trump stood up on the stage in Pennsylvania, his face bloodied and his fist raised in defiance. Immediately, word spread that God Himself had stepped in to protect Trump from the assassin's bullet.

It is tempting to think that it was an act of God, who has a plan for Donald Trump and has placed a special anointing on him. I have even heard that the assassination attempt was a part of God's plan to help ensure a Trump victory in November.  

But what about Corey Comperatore, a loving and devoted husband, father, and public servant? Was it God's plan for him to die?

It would seem to have been, needlessly cruel though it may be to just come right out and say so. In the Book of Matthew, Jesus says:

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

And in Psalms 139:16, we find this:

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

But honestly, how could it be otherwise? As is also said (sung, actually), God works in mysterious ways His wonders to etc, right? Thus it is not given to poor, fallen humanity to comprehend those ways, nor to question, challenge, or rail against the presumed unfairness of them. Rather, it is for us to humbly accept, abide by, and glean whatever wisdom we may from them. In the final analysis, it all comes down to this, I think.

Did God spare Donald Trump? Did He swat that bullet away the way you would swat away a fly on a steamy July afternoon? Maybe. It's also possible that it was all a matter of chance and physics, and God had no more stake in sparing Trump than He did in having another person die.

God does not always intervene when we think He should. The Democrats may successfully plot, plan, and finesse their way into victory in November. If that happens, the media will crow, and the denizens of X will rejoice in the nastiest ways possible. And we will be very nervous about the future. 

But consider what has happened not just in the last week but in the last four years. How many eyes have had the scales fall from them? How many people have had epiphanies not just about the progressive movement but about a bloated government, disingenuous media, and the culture of lies and manipulation that has become part and parcel of American life? How many seeds have been planted? What tools have we been given for the future? It may not be a question of waiting to see what God will do when God may be waiting to see what we will do.

Amen.

Myself, ever since I was growed-up enough to puzzle seriously over such weighty matters I found what I call the Theorem of a Hands-Off God diverting—ie, that this wild, wooly world of ours can be likened to one of those old tin clockwork-toy cars: the good Lord spun the key until the spring-tension was up to spec, the internal cogs ‘n’ sprockets ‘n’ such-like all ready and r’aring to go. Next, He set the gizmo down on the floor, picked up His Mighty Hand to release the l’il beastie, then was content to just sit back and watch it race and rip around without further intervention in its operation.

The Heavenly Housecats, naturally, were NOT amused. AT. ALL.

Someplace amidst the flotsam, jetsam, and unsorted effluvia here in Stately Hendrix Manor I still have one of those vintage wind-up toys: a hand-painted, open-cockpit GP race car complete w/driver made in Italy circa the late 50s, brand spanking new in its original cardboard box. Hopefully, the key is still in there too; I’m pretty sure it is. One of these first days I need to break it out, wind it up, and let it go scooting across the floor. Maybe whatever tiny fleas, gnats, ants, or other animules residing therein (if any) will consider me a god, too.