Satisfying a Divine Despot

If I lived in a land under the rule of a despot¹ rather than in a democracy, my life would be dictated by his whim. Where I lived, what I did for work, what I was allowed to enjoy, would all be in the despot’s hands. If the despot found my daughter attractive, my daughter was his.  If the despot wanted a road to pass through where my house sat, I would have to find a new home. Everything “about me” would have to pass through the despot’s pleasure. If the despot said no, it was no! I would live at the mercy of a despot.

I Can VOTE

Well, I currently live in the land of the vote. Essentially I have a say in my destiny.  I can choose what I want to drive, where I live, what I eat . . . we all have a vote.  Each of us have a say in how our life is lived. CHOICE is ours: We are American after all.  But is that actually true?

On March 20^th of 1988, I had an encounter where a Divine Despot asked if I would like to live in His land. I had made quite a mess on my own and said yes.  It took until September 13^th of the following year for Him to airlift me out, but I was transferred from a kingdom of darkness into THE DESPOT’s marvelous Light.  So why am I saying all this? Because all of us who call on the Lord, live under a Despot.

Now, our Beloved Despot is kind and merciful, but He is a despot nonetheless. We do have a choice, because God has irrevocably given us free-will, but our lives are solely in His hands. It doesn’t matter if He has allowed us to live in a republic; He is our despot. At the end and beginning of every day, we live for HIS pleasure.

This is scary! It is an uncomfortable truth, but if I will submit to that fact, then my life will be extraordinarily simpler. I didn’t say easy, but simpler, yes. See, God the Father desires me to live for His pleasure. The amazing thing is that my Despot is amazingly just. He is not evil like all known despots. He doesn’t puncture my flesh for His amusement. No, He is loving, but still a despot.

Serving a Divine Despot

So now that I’ve made a case for the Lord Jesus being a Divine Despot, you might wonder why.  Well, it’s because to get along in His Kingdom, we have to live solely for the Despot’s pleasure.  If I will satisfy my Divine Despot, I will be fulfilled.  This is so counter to our normal mode of operation.

Normally, if I live for another’s pleasure, I get the shaft.  But in the Kingdom of God, if I satisfy Him then I am fulfilled.  You notice that I don’t say I am satisfied.  The reason for that is the Despot doesn’t set out to satisfy my flesh.  I have really petitioned Him on this one, but He doesn’t often budge.  And when He has, ooooo, what a mess!  When I have gotten what “I WANT!”—Lord Jesus, the results have been frightening. But even in that, the Despot worked it together so well as to benefit me.

Satisfying the King

Let me wrap this up.  If I will get in line to choose to satisfy the Eternal KING, if I will live my life for His pleasure, then I will live in His Reward. You’ve read my posts, so you know I don’t do this perfectly.  But I can say that when I do, I am transported into all possibilities! If you and I were sitting down for a cup of coffee, I might tell you some wonderful stories of this reality.  JESUS is a Lord!

This will be, in his own time, the final dénouement of God, who is the blessed controller (in the Greek: despot) of all things, the king over all kings and the master of all masters, the only source of immortality, the one who lives in unapproachable light, the one whom no mortal eye has ever seen or ever can see. To him be acknowledged all honour and power for ever, amen!
1 Timothy 6:15-16 J.B. Phillips New Testament

¹ DESPOT, n. An emperor, king or price invested with absolute power, or ruling without any control from men, constitution or laws.