Broken pride

We see war upon the heels of war; economic disaster, as the fruits of greed and avarice come to maturity. And the sufferings multiply. Yet, the response of our national government, along with state, county and city governments is remarkably inadequate, often simplistic, misdirected and wastefully ineffective.

Unemployment soars! Production and sales plummet! Well-established businesses – large and small – close. Uncertainty and panic have gripped many in our country. People looking for the silver lining find it tarnished and devalued. With it, the confidence of a nation is shattered.

Looking to our congressional leaders has proved fruitless, as the legislative process has degenerated into petty bickering and infantile rants along party lines.

So, what is a person to do, here or in some other country, while watching all of this play out on the world stage? We can sink into depression and despair, or we can go to the only real source of hope and encouragement for consolation, comfort and confidence. What is that source? The Bible! Now, some will deride this notion. Others will just continue to be bewildered and befuddled about the great issues of our time.

We should not be taken by surprise by these disheartening developments. Anciently, God told His people that if they obeyed His Commandments that He would give them incredible physical blessings. But, in an ominous warning, He also said this in Leviticus 26:14-17: "But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you."

And then He said, "I will break the pride of your power…" (v.19). It is a dull person, one who is particularly unaware of what is happening in the world today, that cannot see that this prophecy is now coming to pass with pinpoint accuracy in the United States of America and to a large extent in the other English-speaking nations.

Our economic, military and moral presence as the only real superpower in the world has been diminished dramatically in recent years and the decline is rapidly accelerating. Our enemies on the world scene openly ridicule us with impunity.

What, then, can a person do on an individual level in this sad state of affairs? We can pray for our leaders, as admonished by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1-3. Certainly we should also make some provision for emergency situations, but, long term, we must rely on God to straighten out all of this. We can have confidence, real hope, that God will protect His people upon whom the end of the ages has come. That's right; the Bible addresses the issue of personal protection for those seeking God's will and His Kingdom.

So, while we see our beloved nation in decline with its power being broken, we can do our part to be good examples by putting His ways into practice now, all the while looking forward to the coming Kingdom of God which is the only genuine answer to the problems of mankind. God speed that day.

You can gain more information about this in our free booklet The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy.