Help us, Lord! There is not a good person left

“Help us, Lord! There is not a good person left; honest people can no longer be found. All of them lie to one another; they deceive each other with flattery.”

This cry of King David in Psalm 12 seems so relevant for our world today. We are living in a world that is becoming not only economically bankrupt but one that is increasing in spiritual poverty. World leaders are struggling to stabilize shaky economies, religious leaders and high ranking civil servants have been charged with corruption and sex scandals. We are all still infected by pride, greed and lust that threatens to drag us down into moral bankruptcy.

Henry and Tom Blackaby have described the world as being in “desperate need of those who can stand in the gap and prevent its destruction.”  They noted that God has put His Spirit in our lives to guide and teach us so as to give us the power and wisdom to serve Him each day. As Christians, we are called to represent God as His ambassadors to a people who no longer hold to absolute truths. They espoused the view that “if we are not preventing the deterioration of the world, the problem is not with the world, it is with us.” We cannot blame the darkness for acting like darkness for that is its nature. But darkness cannot exist in the presence of light. And we called to shine as bright lights as children of God in a world full of crooked and perverse people. (Philippians 2:14)

We are living in a time of crisis and in need of repentance. We need to cry out for revival. But revival must begin with us. As the Blackablys rightly noted, revival is for those of us “who have once experienced life but are lifeless or wasting away.” Instead of seeking to “save” others, we need to first turn back to God to purify ourselves of pride, greed and lust.

Let us follow the example of King David’s prayer in the psalms by putting God first in our lives and to affirm His justice and sovereignty in all the events that is happening in the world.. Let us pray to ask God to open our eyes to see what He is doing in our nation rather than praying for God to do what we think needs to be done. We can stand on the promise of Psalm 12:6:

“The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace,

                 purified seven times over.

             Therefore, Lord, we know You will protect the oppressed,

                 preserving them forever from this lying generation,

                 even though the wicked strut about,

                 and evil is praised throughout the land.”

In these times of struggle, challenges, anxiety and confusion, let us encourage one another by holding tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, trusting that God will keep His promises. For our fellow Christians who are going through difficult times, let us seek our Lord’s wisdom to provide comfort and support as well as to speak the truth in love.