Our world seems to be getting worse by the day! In the last year alone, approximately 46 million babies were murdered in the womb worldwide for convenience; and in the last 25 years approximately 1 billion have been slaughtered in the womb. Western governments have grown increasingly hostile toward Christian ideals and morality; and all the while, they continue to preach tolerance of all other religions. In New Zealand, loving biblical corporal punishment has been outlawed (or at least some interpret the law that way). The definition of marriage as given by God Himself at the Creation of the world has been cast away. Sodomy is now enshrined as a right of law, and as such is not supposed to be spoken against. These developments prompt us to ask terrible questions leading to anxious fears which spiral worse and worse into depression!

Read the following questions by slowly getting louder and louder and more intense as you work your way to a frantic pitch. Go on ... at least do it in your mind.

What happens if the police ask our children about the anti-smacking law? What happens if a homosexual couple accuses our church of homophobia? What happens if our rights of worship and freedom of speech are even more restricted in the name of tolerance? What happens if the government con­tinues to get more and more liberal and all remains of Christianity are removed from our culture?! What happens if our culture continues to disintegrate into lib­eralism and even persecution? What if there are already plans and conspira­cies at work to bring this about?! If the very foundations of society are destroyed

WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?!?!!!

These questions have bothered some of you reading this very article, and they are very similar to the questions that have bothered God’s people for thousands of years. Open your Bible to Psalm 11 and you see the exact same sentiments: but there you also find the Christian’s answer to such fears. The Psalms are rich in cries to the Lord for help, but we all too often relegate those cries to a bygone era – as if we can’t experience the same comforts as the people of Israel. However, accord­ing to Ephesians 2:11-22, they are our brothers and sisters in the faith. They looked forward to the Messiah, and we look back. Therefore, the answers given by David are still relevant for us today.

In Psalm 11, David begins by asserting that He takes refuge in the Lord. There­fore, how can people tell him to flee like a bird to his mountain? He contin­ues on by telling us the advice that he is receiving from some friend or friends. They are concerned because the wicked are bending the bow (or in modern lan­guage, the wicked are cocking the gun). The wicked are creeping in the shadows, ready to destroy the upright and right­eous... And the unknown advisers cry out in vs. 3, “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?!” Their reasoning is all too common: They believe that the wicked have the upper hand, and they almost break into that old country song about a gambler: “You got to know when to hold them, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.” Ac­cording to these well-meaning advisors of David, when the foundations are destroyed, it is the time to run!

But David’s first words call all that into question. In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say (this) to me? David gives his answer in verse 4: The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His Heavenly throne! Now, you might say, “David didn’t answer the question...” Yes, he did. It is as if David is saying, “What do you mean the foundations are being destroyed? Don’t you know that GOD is still ruling? What founda­tions are being destroyed? The founda­tion for life and society and of the whole universe is the might and power of the Creator God – the LORD.” Regardless of what is happening in this life or on this earth – God is STILL reigning on high! Heaven is not affected by the turmoil of this life... The New Zealand govern­ment can erase morality and godliness from its laws and educational system, but they can’t unseat God from His throne! God is observing the sons of men with His all-seeing eye. The Lord examines the righteous and the wicked, and He HATES those who do violence. On the wicked, the LORD will rain fiery coals and burning sulphur; a scorching wind will be their lot. In other words, God will defend and vindicate His people. Therefore, of what are you afraid? Seriously, do not fear what man fears. If God is for us, who can be against us? The answer is: No one! For all the nations are but a drop in the bucket. At their best, the evil forces of this world can never sep­arate us from the eternal love of God in Christ. In those words, many of you will notice the familiar phrases of Isaiah 40, 1 Peter 3, and Romans 8... You can look those passages up to confirm exactly what David says in Psalm 11. If God is reigning on high, then we don’t need to be afraid of things going wrong in this world.

This is where all you “realists” will begin to roll your eyes and shrug your shoulders and shake your heads ... “Here we go again ... Another pastor trying to tell people that they don’t need to be anxious about all this bad stuff in the world – Yeah, right. Easier said than done!”

If that is your reaction, then I wouldn’t call you a “realist” at all – rather you are the type of people who were trying to convince King David that he should be afraid and run away. You are afraid of all these developments in our world. You may even think that if you aren’t worried about them, then they will get worse. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, trusting that He lived, died, and rose again as your substitute – then you are eternally secure in Him. Therefore, you MUST trust that in Christ you have nothing to fear. Our normal reaction to such words (myself included) is to say, “Well, sure our souls are secure, but what about our lives and our bodies?!” But such questions and such fears for our physical well-being miss the glory of our salvation. If God has sorted eternity for you – do you REALLY think that He hasn’t also sorted every detail of this life? Think about that ... If God has saved you and provided you infinite bliss and blessing in His presence for countless millions of years to come, do you really think He hasn’t sorted the measly few years you have here in this life? Of course He has! He has promised us that ALL things will work together for our sal­vation. He gave us the example of the life of Joseph to make sure we under­stood that what others intend for evil – God can and does intend for our good!

The key to confidence in the Chris­tian life is applying that fact to the trials of life. When the waves of life are over­whelming and the wicked are crouching in ambush ready to strike down the right­eous, we have to remember that God is seated on His throne. These attacks and these political intrigues and prob­lems are ALL a part of God’s perfect plan to love us and do what is right and good for us. Does that mean that we will always be free from pain? Not at all! For God says that WHEN we pass through the deep waters, rivers, and fire, He will be with us, and we will not be destroyed. Trials are a part of life. The call of Christian discipleship is to take up our cross and follow Christ. The cross was the method of public execution. The call to the Christian life is one of taking up our method of execution so that we might die to this world/self and to follow Christ instead. Therefore, there WILL be pain, but the promise of God is that at the end of time, we will agree with Him that all such pain was infinitely worth it and good for us! Again some of you will want to reply, “But can pain really be good for us?” Yes, absolutely it can! We all know the phrase, “No pain, no gain.” Physical fitness doesn’t come without some pain, but the rewards of good health and strength are worth it. There are many medical procedures that cause pain, but the result of improved health is definitely worth it. The joy of a new baby boy/girl makes the pain of labour worth it. David ends Psalm 11 on a beautiful high note – The Lord is righteous and He loves justice; upright men WILL see His Face! You’ll remem­ber that Moses longed to see God, but God showed Him only the back of His glory – for no man could see God’s face and live (Exodus 33:18-23). So, David ends with a contrast: The wicked who oppress God’s people will be judged with God’s wrath, sulphur, and fire, but those who are righteous in His sight will see His face. At the end of time, when we see God and the new heavens and the new earth, we will say, “Yes, this was ALL worth it!”

So, practically – How do you have this confidence of David? Well, first of all, recognize that you won’t always have this confidence to the same degree. You will have times when it is easier to trust God and be content and confident ... and there will be times when you find that very hard. It is normal to wax and wane a bit, but guard yourself against extremes by remembering your human proclivity to waver. Secondly, when the waves of trial and tribulation rise high in your life, REMEMBER, REMEMBER, RE­MEMBER! Remember that while it might seem that the foundations of society are being destroyed – they aren’t! They just aren’t, because God is the foundation of every breath you take and every step of every man, woman, and beast. No matter what is going on in our world, God is STILL reigning on high! God is still in control. God is still keeping His promises by working all things together for our good – even the actions of the vile and wicked. Therefore, thirdly, you must keep the pain of this life in perspec­tive. Keep the eternal perspective... In these few decades you have on earth, God is at work in you to transform you into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Trust Him to do that work in a perfect way (as He promised), and look forward to the day when the wicked will receive justice and the righteous the promised reward – seeing God face to face! Oh, what a joy that will be! It will all be worth it. Finally, when thoughts and feel­ings of fear and anxiety come to mind, make the conscious decision to put them off, and to put on the Lord Jesus Christ instead (Ephesians 4:20-24). Consciously decide to put such thoughts out of your mind, and instead focus on the blessings and the good gifts God has given you (See Philippians 4:4-9). And as you do this, you will know the presence of the God of peace, and you will be set free from the fear of this world. Do you still doubt this is true? Try it. Study the pas­sages I have mentioned, and put these directions of your Lord into practice. You will see that God’s Word is true!