Sometimes I think man has a lot more power than they really do. When that happens I get all kinds of jitters - it's like being in High School and the cool kids control your identity. They decide fashion, they decide slang, they decide if you're in or your out.
And then you grow up and other people seem to try and coerce you with their power. Politicians, liberal media (for real though - they are loud and obnoxious - whew, glad I let that cat out of the bag), Hollywood, Real Simple (by golly, I'm just not that simple), and the cool kids - yeah, even grown ups feel pressure from grown up cool kids. Dang it.
It's overwhelming. It can be discouraging. It can make you feel small.
Fear of man is a prison that you were not designed to live in.
Is this power real? Or is it perceived?
I guess in a way these power mongers wield their wily swords and make laws, or create fashion trends, or clog up the media with crazy ideas, but how much power do they really have and does it prevent YOUR soul from truly flourishing?
Let's read Psalm 3 together - come on, read it - it's short:
O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God. Selah
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah
David wrote this when he was running from his son - yeah, that's a bad day. He had a lot to fear - like losing his life. But in this fear of man, he turned to God and believed in the greater power.
Man will taunt us saying, "There is no salvation from your God!" They will try to make us believe that God is not powerful, that there is no hope in Him, or try and get us to deny He even exists.
When man is threatening you all the way down to who holds your very salvation - go to God, like David did: "I cried aloud to the Lord!"
God is the lifter of our heads when we are weary of sinful man. He is our shield of protection. He is so powerful that even in the midst of serious hot pursuit, David could get a good nights sleep:
"I lie down and sleep, I wake again because the Lord sustains me."
No one can rob you of sleep when God is your peace.
When it feels like man is after you, whether it's one or a thousand, ask God for deliverance from the evil that combats you. Trust that in God alone is your salvation - and that it is eternally secure.
Man can try and control what you wear, what you buy, who you work for, and may even go after your life - but you can flourish in the Hands of God - for with Him is your salvation. He reigns over your life and your soul. The wicked will perish. But you will thrive.
Man can't touch that.
[Cue MC Hammer music.]
May you believe, dear ones.