It is tempting to despair when we consider the failing morals of king and country which, like a wrecking ball, have nearly crumbled the structural integrity that made us “one nation, under God.” I have heard it said many times of late, “This isn’t the America I grew up in.” In the past, there was a general reverence for God and a respect for authority. Now, God is blasphemed over every airway, biblical principles are openly mocked, and parental rights are being ripped away in the name of individual expression and social justice. If your heart is deeply grieved over these deteriorating times, you are not alone.
The psalmist expressed a similar concern over his own cultural decline:
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us (Psalm 2:1-3).
Their utter contempt for God and disregard for moral restraints sounds so like our current cultural climate. Was there hope for them then? Is there hope for us now? Without a doubt! The answer was the same then as it is now, and it is revealed in the next few verses of Psalm chapter 2:
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare and decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession (Psalm 2:6-8).
Did you catch that? Despite the state of the world when this passage was written, God had a holy king in mind who would come without a political agenda or false promises. This king’s dominion would expand to the uttermost parts of the earth, not by force or selfish coercion, but by the shedding of his own blood. He would rule with compassion and mercy, bringing healing to the nations.
And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest (Matthew 9:35-38).
Jesus was the answer then, and He is the answer now. In a world that seems ridden with evil, we have a King who offers salvation, protection and healing to all who will receive Him, and a joint inheritance in His kingdom. That offer extends not only to the upstanding and upright of society, but to the poor, helpless, addicted, abused, lonely, confused and utterly sinful who have mocked Him, spitting in the face of all He stands for. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Will you answer His call today? Will you not only receive His offer of salvation, but partner with Him in laboring for the harvest? He simply pleads, “Ask of me.”
If ever there was a call to prayer, the time is now. But don’t let your prayer closet be a place to hide from your responsibilities as a Christian. Like Jesus, let your grief over the state of the world provoke you to action. Pray, then do. Pray, then speak. Pray, then vote. Pray, then stand…and having done all, to stand (Ephesians 6:13).
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