![[Photo of a Scripture verse]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/Psalm_3_2-6.jpg)
| “But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.” |
| —Psalm 3:3 |
In the most recent weeks, every day I think to myself, “Can this horrible division in our nation get any worse?” And, every day I find more and more hostile, divisive, and nasty rhetoric spewing forth from both sides of the political aisle. This rancor must stop!
As has often been the case in the last forty years, people are targeting Christians and blaming them for everything that is happening in our social, political, economic, cultural, and systemic worlds. The criticisms are not fair. But, they are very real, nonetheless.
And, sadly, some of the harshest criticisms are coming from the left and right extremes of Christianity itself. Some of the most stinging and hurtful accusations, words that feed the hostility and division, are coming from Christians fighting with each other.
As we believers in Jesus, and His resurrection power, become more and more marginalized, we can rightly feel we have nowhere to turn. But, that is a lie of Satan.
When King David found himself under attack from a particularly persistent enemy, David wrote these words of praise to God found in Psalm 3:2-6:
Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.”
But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.
In the midst of one of the most hurtful times most of us have ever experienced in our lives, God is able to deliver us. We must remain faithful to the message of Christ, as the embodiment of God’s mercy, grace, and unfailing love. If we do, we will find that God is, indeed, our shield and our deliverer. May we determine, as we begin a new day, to refrain from evil words and a condemning spirit. Instead, let’s make certain our words build others up, rather than tear others down.
