Despair is at the Door

We live in a world that is filled with unrest and is decaying around us. We may be tempted to stop watching the news just to avoid the growing record of loss of freedoms and mayhem that seem to be a daily event. Morality is being distorted to make right wrong and the immoral moral. Profanity, the act of making what is sacred common, pervades every form of media and communication. Those who have standards are intolerant so their right to free speech cannot be tolerated. People chain themselves to trees to keep them alive while they demand public funding for the slaughter of the unborn. Christian practices and expressions are being removed from the public forum while Islam is openly promoted. Our government declares the God's nation of Israel to to be guilty of terrorism while terrorist actions are simple acts of workplace violence. Those in power cast a blind eye to those who are motivated by a zealous conviction of the spread of Islam at any cost, with any sacrifice. They are either willing accomplices or ignorant of the realities of this oppressive religion whose goal is to offer whatever sacrifice is necessary for world domination and destruction.We want them to like us so we give them the financial means and freedom to build the nuclear weapons to destroy us.

Into this very uncertain world my three grandchildren have been born to parents devoted to serving God and determined to rear these little ones in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. My youngest son has become engaged to a godly young woman with a desire to serve Yahweh and His Son as their driving motivation in life. I wonder how long any of them will have the freedom to do so.

At age sixty-two the world is not what it was when I was in grade school. Back then we started each day with a pledge to the flag, a reading of a Psalm, and the Lord's Prayer. It was more routine than religious but God was invited to bless our day, at least until third grade. Now Bibles are forbidden while Muslim prayer areas are sent aside for Islamic students to partake in their daily prayers. America is now a villain and must be cut down for our greatness and freedoms. There is no exceptionalism and no Biblical or Theocratic foundation, even though God's Word is cited throughout our founding documents, both on a federal and state level. It is enough to make you wonder how long this nation will last. It leads me to assume that the reason there appears to be no evidence of America as a world power in Biblical prophecy may be due to the reality that we will not be one when the final events begin to unfold. It can lead one to have grave concern for the coming generations and, if you let your mind run with it, a feeling of despair. Where is God in all of this?

Truth is a hard thing to hang onto when life does not seem to reflect what is supposed to be true. It is not the first time. Persecution of those who believe and hold fast to Biblical truth has been a reoccurring cycle throughout human history. There are times when I empathize with King David: "Behold, these, the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase riches, Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocenc. For all the day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning" (Psalm 73:12-14).

Why do the wicked seem to prosper and evil gain victories over those who try to hold a righteous standard? Questions arise: Is God true? Can I rest in His grace? Will I choose to believe that He is in control? Will I believe that the chaos that grows around me and the imposing darkness that slowly brings oppression to my life is, to some extent, an illusion in contrast to His sovereign will? Or will I give in to anxious feelings or cynicism? "This is just how life has become, so ignore what you can and expect it to just get worse." Despair is at the door. There is not a lot of hope and joy in that approach to life. What is needed is a practical application of the sovereignty of God.

These are the times when what we know needs to overrule how we feel. David exemplifies this as he struggles with the apparent lack of God's participation in life around him. Scarred by Saul's betrayal, his own moral collapse, and his son's desire to destroy him David knows what it feels like to be abandoned. He shares his pain and joy in his psalms. "Why are you cast down, oh my soul? And why are you disquieted in me? Hope in God; for yet shall I praise Him for the help of His countenance" (Psalm 42:5). "But I am poor and need; yet the LORD thinks upon me, You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, oh my God" (Psalm 40:17). David's Psalms are honest enough to let God know when we do not understand and yet we can trust Him. Isaiah reminds us, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord, Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation" (Isaiah 12:2).

The psalmist and the prophets understood that the world is not kind. Rather it is brutal and unyielding. However, they were keenly aware that the LORD God of Jacob was sovereign. He is never surprised and He will ultimately deliver. So David writes Psalm two and asks "Why do the nations rage?" God is the one they will answer to. Job can look at the undeserved turmoil of life and say, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (Job 13:15). Again David declares, with confidence, "In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 56:11).

The world will always have its brutal people attempting to bring despair upon those who trust in the Lord. That really is the key, the answer. "LORD". He is the sovereign Lord in whom we trust. "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1).