“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. (Psalm 2:1-4, ESV)

Christians are murdered for their faith and refusal to convert to Islam in other lands.  Christians are sued and found liable for refusing service to gay couples in our own land.  The Christian faith is assaulted by entertainers, by courts, by non-believers who want their immorality to be tolerated but who themselves cannot tolerate Christian morality.  Even some churches that claim to be Christian are more concerned about political correctness than being faithful to biblical truth.  And most lately, a mass shooting in the church in Texas reminds us that even the sanctuary can be a scary and tragic place.

It is amazing how the world we live in has turned so dramatically against the Lord who created and sustains all things!  In my own lifetime, what a shift I have seen take place from a general understanding of right and wrong that was based on the Bible.  It is not just a political shift, nor a governmental shift, nor something that has been imposed on our society.  It is a cultural shift that is rooted in the depths of the personal soul, and that has been allowed to morph into a collective elevation of the carnal nature of man.  And even the most recent act of violence in Texas should tell us that, while revenge could have been carried out anywhere those family members would be found, a church building at worship time was the chosen killing field, almost as if thumbing a nose at God.

“…but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”  (James 1:14-15, NIV)

THAT is the root of it all – persecution in other lands, political correctness against religion, societies abhorrence for the holy and appetite for perversion, and even a lone gunman’s rage against relatives that spills over onto other innocents as well.  It is mankind running away from God until they are so far from him that they think they can eradicate Him and His Truth from their presence.  They pass laws that purport to supersede His Law.  They arrest those who stand for Him and His Truth and who refuse to submit to man’s law.  They behead those who refuse to denounce Him and His Truth and convert to false religion.  And they plot to murder with no thought of the consequences.

I can tell you this… God is not laughing when senseless murder enters the church house!  He is not unaware when this happens, and I know that he is grieved at the pain of a pastor and his family and the members of Christ’s body.  And, I am certain of his care and comfort that will be poured out on those hurting people, continuing to give them hope, help and peace through his Spirit and through God’s people.

But what does God do about all those attackers of his people that we see everywhere?  He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.  He laughs at the puniness of man – who thinks he can snuff out God’s people.  He laughs at the arrogance of man, that thinks somehow by hurting and killing God’s people they will halt His work on this earth.  He laughs, not because he is amused, but because He holds their insolence in contempt.  He is not amused at the persecution, he holds them in derision.   And, he laughs because he knows the final outcome of it all, and that final victory is assured in his plan!

Think about it.  Continue to pray for our hurting brothers and sisters in Sutherland Springs, Texas!  Pray for the persecuted around the world and even in the U.S.!  And draw comfort and strength from the fact that God is still on his throne and the final chapter and ending is still his, and will be accomplished just as he desires!