I’m concerned for our world. The weight of evil continues to rear its ugly head with deceit, fraud, and arrogance. Wickedness pops up daily like an earth-wide “whack a mole” game. God’s saints feel overwhelmed as we strike these powers of darkness through our intercession.
Since the beginning of time, the plot of the evil one has been to “wear down the saints of the Highest One” (Daniel 7:25). The devil was an arrogant liar even before his appearance at the genesis (John 8:44). Pretense and deception come naturally from his lips. His purpose of existence is to roam the earth, swallowing up all that is righteous and leaving devastation in his wake (Job:1:7; 1 Peter 5:8).
No wonder that creation groans with pain (Romans 8:22). We join King David to cry out, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3) “All the foundations of the earth are shaken” (Psalm 82:5).
Let’s learn from the first century Christians, who were also victimized and discriminated against by those in power. Early disciples held steadfast in faith and firm in hope because they believed that everything occurred according to the plan of God (Acts 2:23; 4:28). Despite persecution and prison, believers testified that they couldn’t stop speaking the truth they had seen and heard (Acts 4:20).
So should we remain passive while wickedness unfolds before us? Absolutely not. We were created to subdue the earth and overcome evil with good (Genesis 1:28; Romans 12:21). Christ gave us authority to tread upon all the power of the enemy, binding up that which isn’t heavenly and loosing that which is (Luke 10:19; Matthew 18;18). The One within us is still more potent than our adversary in the world (1 John 4:4; Hebrews 10:23).
Take hope that “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Proverbs 21:1). These hearts include those of our current administration, media moguls, and technology kingpins. God can “turn their heart to hate His people” as quickly as He can “make (us) objects of compassion in their presence” (Psalms 105:25; 106:46). The Almighty testifies that He is “the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these” (Psalm 45:7).
Will we believe in Him no matter what? Will we endure and stand firm? Will we fix our eyes on Him in hope?
I believe we will. Daily, let’s pray that God will rout the enemy of all that is good and right. Continue to intercede specifically regarding ungodly laws, bills, and appointments, claiming that He “who delivered us from so great a peril of death will deliver us” again (2 Corinthians 1:10). And as we pray, we must stand firm in the spirit of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to say, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, let it be known that we are not going to serve your gods” (Daniel 3:17-18).
“O, God grant us strength, endurance, and hope.”