With tomorrow being Election Day, it seems only appropriate to take a step back and get some
heavenly perspective. As I’ve talked to
many people about our presidential options this year, most feel some level of
disgust or despair with our choices.
Neither candidate seems to inspire. The pundits tell us that many people will
just stay home, not being able to swallow the idea of voting for one or the
other. We worry about what the candidate
we’re voting for might do, or more probably, what the candidate we’re voting
against might do. This quite nasty campaign season has aroused fears that the
very fabric of our nation and society are being irreparably torn and frayed.
Today’s study isn’t about who to vote for though; rather it is taking a look at
Who is really in charge, both today and for eternity.
Psalm 11
In
the Lord I have taken
shelter.
How can you say to me,
“Flee to a mountain like a bird!
2 For look, the wicked prepare their bows,
they put their arrows on the strings,
to shoot in the darkness at the morally upright.
3 When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the godly accomplish?”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes watch;
his eyes examine all people.
5 The Lord approves of the godly,
but he hates the wicked and those who love to do violence.
6 May the Lord rain down burning coals and brimstone on the wicked!
A whirlwind is what they deserve!
7 Certainly the Lord is just;
he rewards godly deeds;
the upright will experience his favor.
How can you say to me,
“Flee to a mountain like a bird!
2 For look, the wicked prepare their bows,
they put their arrows on the strings,
to shoot in the darkness at the morally upright.
3 When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the godly accomplish?”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes watch;
his eyes examine all people.
5 The Lord approves of the godly,
but he hates the wicked and those who love to do violence.
6 May the Lord rain down burning coals and brimstone on the wicked!
A whirlwind is what they deserve!
7 Certainly the Lord is just;
he rewards godly deeds;
the upright will experience his favor.
Things to think about:
·
Is this election stirring up in you angst about
where our society is headed?
o Does
it feel like maybe we have reached a tipping point where our Judeo-Christian
values are on the way out? Are the “morally upright” under attack as David
suggests?
o He
articulates what many people seem to feel at this point in our history, “When
the foundations are destroyed, what can the godly accomplish?”
§
Does this describe you?
·
David starts off in verse 1 by saying his faith
is in God.
o Why
is this an important foundational statement?
o His
logic then builds to, “if I’m trusting God then why would I run away in fear
because powerful people are intent on hurting the morally upright?”
o There
is a tendency when circumstances appear to be too powerful or inevitable to run
and hide. David clearly rejects this
kind of cowardice.
·
Verse 4 is really the key here: The Lord is
in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
o Our hope does not rely on whoever is sitting in
the Oval Office, rather it is in He Who sits on His Holy Throne.
o How does this truth comfort you in the midst of
uncertainty surrounding our country?
·
God will
not be mocked, whatever a man’s sows, so will he reap (Galatians 6:7)
o God is watching, He sees and knows exactly what
is going on.
o Both His judgment and His blessing are coming to
those according to their deeds
o Certainly the Lord is just; He rewards godly
deeds and the upright will experience His favor
·
As we have
remarked a number of times recently, be strong, be of good courage.
o Proverbs 21:30 says, “There is no wisdom, no
insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.”
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