Abraham Lincoln: God's Humble Instrument

By Ron L. Andersen

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 Abraham Lincoln, God's Humble Instrument

I'm sure there must be hundreds of biographies of Abraham Lincoln out there, and many of them talk about his values, his virtues, his spirituality, and his soul. So what makes this book different? It talks about his belief that God had a mission for him to perform, and his almost prophet-like approach to accomplishing that mission.

He had already served two years in Congress and failed to be re-elected, but when he heard about the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which nullified the Missouri Compromise and gave each new state the right to choose to be a slave state or not, "Lincoln was stirred to the depths by this monumental misstep made by Congress and the President with this new law.... While this moral premise of slavery had always been a wrong tolerated only by necessity, this dramatic political offensive and victory by proslavery activists elevated slavery from a moral wrong to a condition of choice, legally afforded to all white Americans. Racism and white supremacy would now be legal and celebrated in America. Lincoln would view this destruction of a time-honored moral principle to be as dangerous as the actual, and most certain, spread of this soul-cankering practice of slavery across the American continent." (p. 74)

So Lincoln decided to do something about it, and that was to study and then attend Stephen A. Douglas's speeches and offer to debate him on the subject because of Douglas's part in getting the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed. Lincoln’s efforts led to his eventual election as President of the United States and his mission to save the Union and free the slaves.

The author shows how Lincoln made his decisions based on what he felt God wanted him to do, though he kept an open White House and allowed any and everyone to come and tell him what they thought he should do.

He spoke many times of his belief that God could end the war, and yet had not, so there must be a purpose in the war. He acknowledged that both sides prayed to the same God and believed that their cause was just, and he contended that both were probably wrong because of the evils both sides were willing to tolerate in order to continue in the ways they were going. Lincoln asserted that the purpose of the war might be to cleanse America of the evils of white supremacy, mobocracy, slavery, racism, and religious bigotry--that it was God's refining fire.

He freed the slaves only when he could find a legal way to do it, and that came with his war powers which allowed him to confiscate property for the war effort. The "property" he confiscated were the slaves, and the resulting thousands of African-American soldiers helped win the war and preserve the Union.

This book is a powerful exploration of not only the goodness of this man of integrity and honor, but also of his desire to submit to the will of God in all he did. The author quoted words Lincoln once told a friend, according to Stephen L. Richards' IN WAR AND PEACE:

"That the Almighty does make use of human agencies and directly intervenes in human affairs is one of the plainest statements in the Bible. I've had so many evidences of His direction, so many instances when I've been controlled by some other power than my own will, that I cannot doubt that this power comes from above.... All we have to do is trust the Almighty and keep on obeying His orders and executing His will. I frequently see my way clear to a decision when I am conscious that I have not sufficient facts upon which to found it. But I cannot recall an instance in which I have followed my own judgement founded upon such a decision, where the results were unsatisfactory; whereas, in almost every instance where I have yielded to the views of others I have had occasion to regret it." (p. 201)

Lincoln came at a time when we needed someone who was willing to submit humbly to God's will, and he helped the country through the refiner's fire. What a difference it would have made if he had not dared to step forward and speak out.