discouragement

I’ve been struggling with discouragement. Part of it is physical - I have an injury that keeps me from running. But more than that, there’s a sense that we’re losing. No one seems to care anymore that we’re God’s image-bearers. Any level of deviance seems not only OK, but protected. Barring a revival, I think America is a few short years away from being a post-Christian nation.

This morning, words of encouragement from 2 Chronicles 32:7-8: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles."

In that situation, Assyria came against Judah with a massive army and a ton of arrogance. The arrogance was rooted in decades of military success, but unfounded anyway. God wiped out all the warriors and officers in the camp, and the king went home so disgraced that his sons killed him.

The king of Assyria made a significant mistake: He mocked God. He did exactly what the humanists and atheists of today do. He said God was insignificant, ineffectual. He claimed God could not stop him from doing whatever he wanted. He scorned those who believed in God as superstitious and deluded.

I don’t expect God to send an angel to silence his enemies this year. But that’s only because he doesn’t want to. God will not ever be stopped by people, or anything else. He is still the sovereign lord, my sovereign lord.

Psalm 2 says, “Why do the nations conspire and the people plot in vain . . . . The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs.at them.”

What I see as losing is probably really patience. God is giving people time to repent, and us time to witness. Rather than despair, I need to get to work.