According to some, today is a monumental occasion. With a little "push-me, pull-you" strategy, the powers that be managed to get the health care bill passed and signed by the President. Although the ensuing legal battles are far from over, for many of us who are pro-life this is a serious blow. The current political climate is not friendly towards conservatives, and especially not towards Christians. Sometimes it feels like we are marching on a gigantic wall with only a handful of troops. From the top of the wall, those who would like nothing better than to see us fall defeated are jeering and taunting. It seems an insurmountable challenge. Because of this unpleasantness, many who at one time professed to follow Christ have allowed their guard to slip. Some have fallen asleep at their campfires, awakening only when it is too late and the enemy is already upon them. Others decide that peace, at any cost, is better than the risk of adhering to any one truth.
The situation we find ourselves in is our own fault. For more on this read Jen's excellent blog It's Hardly Over. Content with our cushy lives and our every-growing need to plump up our pocketbook, too many of us have fallen asleep and allowed others to take the wheel, steering us in directions we didn't want to go. Too many of us have stood by and watched it happen, hoping it would work itself out so we wouldn't have to jump in and get our hands dirty. I am talking to you...and I am talking to me. In James 4:17 the bible says "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." Whoa. Knowing what's right to do and not doing it is sin? That puts a new spin on all of those shoulda/coulda/woulda times, doesn't it? Shoulda, coulda, woulda, but you/I didn't. In a culture that tells us that everything is relative, God's word says that there are moral absolutes. "Everyone on the side of truth listens to me," Jesus says in John 18:37. Notice it's not "everyone on their own side of the truth" or "everyone on the republican/democrat/independent side of the truth"...it's "everyone on the side of the truth". One side...one truth. There is a right, and there is a wrong...it's not just everything goes. You can't stand on the line in the middle; you have to pick a side. Which side are you on?
At times like these it's easy to feel discouraged, and helpless. "What about all of those phone calls we made? Didn't they make any difference at all?" we wonder. "What more could I have done?" It's frustrating to watch events being set in motion and feel powerless to stop them. However, although I may be powerless, God is not. I find that it helps to remember that God is in control, and that this kind of situation is nothing new for Him. Flip through the pages of history and you will find that since the beginning of time, in nearly every civilization, the same patterns of corruption have existed, and God's people (any of those who have dared to stand for God's truth) have been jeered at, oppressed, and relentlessly persecuted for their belief in the Truth. As a nation founded on Christian beliefs, we have had it good for a long time. But as our beliefs have weakened, that same corruption and persecution has gradually been sneaking in the door. The good news is, when God's people cry out to Him, He delivers. You can count on it. One of my favorite examples is in Nehemiah chapter 4 where the Israelites are rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. When their enemies try to sneak up on them, they uncover the plot and although they are out numbered, they rally together to defend the wall. "The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall," Nehemiah says in vs. 19 & 20, "Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!" There is no question of doubt. Nehemiah already knows he's on the winning team.
In John 16:33 Jesus says, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Let that be our rallying cry. Nothing can ever happen that is too big for God to handle. We are already on the winning team. Now, that doesn't mean we just sit back and do nothing because God's going to do it all for us. We still have an obligation to proclaim the truth to those who are captivated darkness. Our consolation is that as long as we keep fighting the good fight and living for God, we don't have to be afraid or worry about what this world is going to send our way. When we pour out our heart and our troubles to God, our God will fight for us! He is the only way, the only truth, and the only life we need (John 14:6).
Glory, Glory Hallelujah! His Truth is Marching On!
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