There's a war being waged within me. There are words there, but something is preventing them from spilling out onto the blank page that lies before me. I want to write. I need to write. But that "something," or perhaps better put "someone," is blocking the door that allows me to express myself.
I want to tear down that wall like a wrecking ball destroys useless and unused structures. I want to breach the blocked corridors of prose and open the cell doors where words of praise and worship are imprisoned, unleashing the power they have to free souls. And when their chains have fallen, I want to lead them out into the darkness of this world and shine their brilliant light of salvation onto the hearts of men.
But the world won't let me. Or, at least, its doing its best to prevent me from writing on behalf of my LORD Jesus Christ and, to me, that's the worst position in which I could possibly find myself. I liken it to having my mouth taped shut, my hands bound behind my back, and my mind being invaded by everything except what is most important to life and eternity. And I don't like it.
The world is LOUD and SCREECHING. It's continually in my face. It's screaming "do as I do and say." It demands that I accept and tolerate wickedness and depravity. And if I refuse, then it tells me to shut my mouth and keep my opinions to myself. And the louder and more demanding the world becomes, the further I draw away from it and long for the day when God sends His Son back to us. I recently saw a Facebook post by Ray Comfort, where he said it was getting harder and harder not to hate this world we live in, and I fully agree with him. The world is sinking deeper and deeper into sin, infiltrating every pore in society and demanding that we join their ranks in lockstep.
Speaking of Facebook...when I sat down this week to catch up on posts, my mind reeled over how far we have fallen from not only Grace, but from logic, reason, sensibility, and compassion. Within one hour, I read of a young woman who was convinced not to abort her baby, then was taken to a facility that gave ultrasounds so that she could see the child who was nestled in her womb, cried and prayed with the Christians who had seemingly saved a life, then walked back into the abortuary and killed her baby son.
The next article covered an incident at a Middle School in Ohio that had invited college students in who demonstrated "anti-bullying" and "tolerance" for homosexuals by asking 12 year old girls to stand before the class and kiss each other.
Although the mainstream and ultra-liberal media refuses to cover the trial of the monster, Gosnell, some news bloggers are attempting to reveal the horror and atrocities he committed. On Tuesday, the judge presiding over the case dropped nine of the charges levied against Gosnell, including three murder charges. My bet is that when it's all over and done with, his punishment will amount to a slap on the wrist.
All around the nation, thousands of people gathered on Saturday, April 20th, to celebrate the legalization of marijuana in the states of Washington and Colorado, and what is now considered a national holiday by this subculture. "420 Day" drew an estimated 80,000 potheads to a rally held in Denver, and an untold number in Washington D.C., who all demonstrated a sign of solidarity with other thousands of drug addicts around the nation when they all lit up their joints and blew the smoke into the air at 4:20 p.m. This so-called "jamboree" of depravity brought not only mind-altering euphoria, but also crime.
And the piece de resistance, scientists in Israel and the Netherlands are working on a way to "counter the shortage of donated eggs for fertility treatment." Their method? Removing the ovaries of aborted female babies and harvesting the eggs that develop within four months in the womb. As Brad Mattes stated, "This Frankenstein-esque madness must stop." I think even Dr. Frankenstein would be appalled at this attempt to create life.
I could continue to list all that we've witnessed the last year. The economy. Natural disasters. Iran. North Korea. Parents murdering their children. School shootings. Homosexual marriage. Legal battles over our Constitutional rights. The Boston terror bombing. The list is endless. But worrying about these things only causes more fear, more apprehension, and more dread of what's to come. (Matt 10:26-33) It certainly raises my blood pressure, which is high enough.
That's why I have consciously avoided the news, except for what my eyes fall upon when I first start up my computer and log onto the internet, or head to Facebook and see how current events have affected my friends. I don't need to be constantly reminded how evil this world is. And I sure don't need to be continually subjected to images and talking heads rehashing every gory detail, or told by secularist humanists and clueless unbelievers how to respond to them.
I know where to turn for peace and comfort. Jesus Christ. Before He was crucified, He comforted His disciples with these words, and they are a beautiful reminder that His Spirit is still with us:
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." ~ John 14:26-27 (ESV)
As a Christian, I know with every fiber of my being that more tragedy, more death, more destruction will come and for those who are left to endure it, it will be worse than anything the world has seen up until now. But I also know deep down in my soul that when all that is to come is brought to an end, and our true King is seated on His rightful throne here on earth for a time, this world we live in will far exceed our wildest imaginations.
Perhaps this has been a cleansing of sorts. Unloading personal frustration onto this blog isn't the norm for me, but this post has cracked the writer's block wall and unfettered a few words.
And the only way to conclude this rant is to share the only thing that
is important in the big scheme of things: Jesus Christ. "He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and He in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me." (Ps 144:1-2) As long as I
keep my eyes focused on Him, let the world fall where it may.
With the Holy Spirit's help, I can hold on until Christ puts an end to sin. Until He does, maybe He will even fill my heart and mind with words for this blog. In the meantime, I pray whoever stops in to read this will believe, turn, repent, and put their full faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
The Gospel is the best way I know to win this war with words.
