The king’s heart is an irrigation channel in the hand of God

The heart is the control room of a person’s life. When it is in the hand of God, it means that the king cannot simply do whatever he pleases. Throughout the Bible, we see that God carries out His plans on earth through the hands of rulers, whether they are aware of it or not. It is for this reason that believers are exhorted to submit to government and to pray for rulers.

Leaders, rulers are part of God’s irrigation system, God’s way of caring for people, seeing to it that every person is treated with dignity and that he or she receives justice. Just as a farmer directs the watercourses (irrigation canals) so that his land is sufficiently watered (e.g. he can build a dam and dig a new ditch to change the course of the water, change its direction and make the land a fertile land), so God can use leaders for the blessing and prosperity of mankind. Just as good irrigation is healthy for the land, good leaders are healthy for the city, country and world.

But not all leaders are good leaders. Sometimes it seems that those in power have complete freedom to do whatever they want. Some rulers take power to themselves; silence their opponents, intimidate; develop a culture of fear through which they position themselves as protectors and sole rulers.

Many a leader/ruler does not realize that his heart is in Someone else’s hands and that he is merely a puppet in the heavenly chess game.

The thought of this one-liner is quite special. You would get the impression that God overrules everything, and that man has no free will. Yet a man can choose, even against God. He can do horrible things.

How many kings, presidents and rulers have not committed atrocities against their own people, and against their enemies. They made those choices themselves. They wanted to expand their empire; they wanted more power, more raw materials, more mineral resources…more…more…more.

And yet: there is the Almighty God, who is Sovereign. He is truly the Sole Ruler. His plans will always be realized. No one can stand against Him. Not even the most powerful on earth.

This is paradoxical: the sovereign omnipotence of the Sole Ruler and the free will of a human ruler, who can harm many people.

On the one hand, power blinds people and gives them the illusion that they can determine the course of history. That they can determine how the irrigation channels run, and who gets the fertile water and who does not.

On the other hand, history shows us world rulers, who had to bow to the Almighty, for better or for worse. One of the former rulers of the Babylonian Empire became so mad because of his arrogance and boasting that he behaved like an animal for a time. This lasted until “he knew that the God of heaven is Ruler.” On the one hand, we see horrible crimes being committed by (world) leaders, without any apparent intervention from heaven. On the other hand, we are reminded in this one-liner that the heart of a (world) leader is in God’s hands and realizes His intentions with humanity.

We should not try to unravel this paradox. The faith of many who have tried has been shipwrecked.

Power is like the force of water. If we do not know how to channel it, it can overwhelm us and we will perish.

Only God Almighty can curb the power of men. Let us therefore pray to the Almighty and Sovereign, and implore Him:

“Give us good leaders who will be Your instruments, like irrigation channels, for the good of mankind. Build a dam against the flood of violence in this world. Make Your power known to those who think they are sovereign, and have forgotten that their hearts, like their breath, are in Your hands. Offer protection and floods of grace to those who suffer because of the abuse of power by others. And above all, carry out Your good, wholesome, hopeful and eternal plans, through all the violence and pride of Your creatures. How good it is to know that the hearts of presidents and kings are in Your hands, and that You do with them as You see fit. Good also to realize that You, the Righteous One, always have the last word. And help us to trust You, even when we do not understand You.”