Oct 2 - Psalm 44:5

Only by your power

can we push back our enemies

Psalm 44:5

 

Before turning to the scriptures this morning, I glanced at the headlines. 

There are tensions around the world. And the US is involved in many. Will we, for example, put "boots on the ground"? Or will we limit our involvement to just air strikes? What does victory even look like anymore?

Because of superior firepower, the US will probably win the majority of skirmishes. But we're clearly losing the war. 

Why?

Because we don't understand the battle we're in anymore. 

The Psalmist says, verse 6 and 7, "I do not trust my bow; I do not count on my sword to save me. It is you who gives us victory over our enemies."

But who or what is our real enemy? Ephesians 6:12 famously reminds us that "our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh." Yes, our enemy is not boldly sweeping across Iraq (ISIS) or hiding in the caves of Afghanistan or subtly destabilizing us through cyberattacks (China). Our greatest enemy in America is ... ourselves. 

There is no unity in our country. Why? Because we've spent the last few generations teaching children that Truth is relative -- a personal construct, an individual opinion. We've bought into the lies (and liar) that Paul warned us about in Ephesians 6. We've become a nation of proud individuals, seeking our own comfort and glory. And there is no unity when 300 million individuals view their own personal happiness as the highest ideal.

If we want victory in America it won't come from our military in Iraq or our government's war on poverty or our bank's economic policy. Our help comes from the Lord. Indeed, "only by your power[, O Lord,] can we push back our enemies."

And, let's be clear ... the enemy in America is self-centeredness. By decentralizing God, we've created a nation of 300 million lower-case gods. And healing -- much less victory -- starts with confession and repentance. 

Yours. 

Yes, we'd like the whole nation to repent, but it starts with you and me. We must first confess our self-centered individualism ... then we must witness boldly (and lovingly) to an alternative. 

And we must not be discouraged. The Psalm says correctly, "Only by your power can we push back our enemies." That's not a "maybe." That's an invitation to call on the name of the Lord. 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who believes Romans 8:37 --

"We are more than conquerors

through him who loves us"