The world around us sometimes looks like it's falling apart. If we believe the media, almost nothing's going right these days. People are acting absolutely terrible. Abortions, poverty, sinfulness, power-grabbing, selfishness, terrorism, the list goes on and on. In the middle of it, we may wonder if there are hardly any people left to stand against the flow of sin. We wonder when righteousness will triumph over flagrant sinfulness. While man certainly sins we must not allow ourselves to think humanity is single-handedly fighting against God for all that is wrong. The devil is the one we as Christians continue to struggle against. King David gave us a nice perspective in Psalm 12.
Psalm 12.
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
Psalm 12.
To the Chief Musician. On an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.
"Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases!For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks proud things,
4 Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”
And the tongue that speaks proud things,
4 Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”
5 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
7 You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
7 You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.
8 The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men." (NKJV)
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men." (NKJV)
David had a rough life. Circumstances around him looked like they were falling apart more often than anyone would want. But when that happened, he turned to God. He did ask why wicked men appeared to be succeeding and asked for God's judgment on them. But no matter what straits he was in, he always acknowledged that God was the most powerful of all. He never doubted this for a second. That's an example we can follow. Look at verses 5-7.
“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
7 You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.” (Psalm 12:5-7, NKJV)
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
7 You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.” (Psalm 12:5-7, NKJV)
No matter what man or devil plots, God's words always stand. He's sovereign over the world, and though we don't always understand what He's doing, on this we can rely: no matter how bad things look, God is still in control and will save us. His words stand against all others. The devil may appear to be winning the war, but in reality he can only win battles. God has given us the power to defeat him. As we walk in God's Word and follow His path, we needn't worry about the devil or the schemes of man. Instead we can use the power given us by God to fight for Him and trust Him to uphold us when we're weak. Things are not as hopeless as they may look because God is always present.
