In His Majesty's Service

UV 2715/10000 In His Majesty’s Service
And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Isaiah 49 v 23

The longest serving monarch of the contemporary times Queen Elizabeth II has written her memoir in which she says, “ I too serve the King of Kings.” Jesus though in His lifetime on earth was despised and condemned by the high and mighty has many followers and servants among even the royalty and elite today. Many Presidents and Prime Ministers too have testified to their commitment to Jesus. They bow down along with common people to the Lord. John the Baptist was one of the greatest of prophets for he not only preached the need for human repentance but he was the forerunner of the Messiah. Yet, he said that he was not worthy to untie the sandals of Jesus. Believers among rulers as well as among the common people regard themselves to this day that they are not worthy to lick the dust of the feet of Jesus. Yet the Lord does not want us to grovel at His feet. He lifts us to our feet, out of the miry clay, the sink hole of our life and places us among princes of His people. We do not have a license to kill like James Bond but we do have a license to be thrilled or excited about what the Lord is doing, has done and will do in us and for us.

On May 21st 1991, I was literally lying in my own blood-soaked dust at Sriperumbudur, the assassination spot of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. People and my colleagues thought that my career was finished. Yet, within a little over six years, the Lord literally placed me in front of Queen Elizabeth II when I was presented to her as an honour on winning the British Gurukul Scholarship for excellence and leadership. I used the occasion to gift her a Bible for Busy People with my handwritten note acknowledging the unchanging grace of the King of Kings Jesus. To let me know that He is Lord, long after I had forgotten this high point of my life, the Lord stimulated the British Government to institute a new Commonwealth-wide competition for projects with prize money to be used for the project. In 2002, July , 23 years after I believed the words spoken by a friend and the corroborating word of God, I won Her Majesty, the Queen’s Award. All praise, glory, honour and thanksgiving to His name and His name alone for it is His power working in us is able to do far more than we can ask for, think or even imagine. This is an individual’s testimony or story. The story of Israel as well as of humanity also reflect the truth, the sovereignty, the character and faithfulness of the Lord. Many powers and heads of state right through history have shown favour triggered by supernatural grace towards Israel, when there was no earthly need or strategic requirement that they do so like Cyrus, Alexander the Great and so on.

It takes time and season for the fruition of the promises of the Lord. But as this uni-verse states He does not disappoint. We will not be ashamed or dismayed as we wait for Him to bless, to deliver, to exalt, to fulfil, to answer. Our waiting should be marked by diligence, patience, strong faith, thanksgiving, worship, praise and constant expectation. The Lord will show us supernatural favour in our hour of need. He will give us evidence that He is Lord and that He is with us as Emmanuel, the indwelling God and as Ebenezer,the Divine Helper, as the Messiah, the Saviour of all humanity.

Prateep V Philip