From Faith To Faith
Watching the wicked prosper
A lot of people write about the specifics of elections and politics, but I rarely do. The primary reason for this used to be that I was bored by it. That reason still exists, but it has been demoted. Now the primary reason is that elections no longer matter. I wonder how long this has been so.
This latest revelation is merely gravy.
These documents and all the others are from Biden’s time as vice-president – which means that, unlike Trump, Biden had no constitutional authority at that time to declassify said documents, much less toss them in a cardboard box next to his old-man car.
However, we all know that Biden will not pay any legal penalty for this, just like Hillary Clinton paid no penalty for storing classified information in an unsecured server at her home.
Meanwhile many to most Americans - like me - can barely pay their rent/mortgage, put gasoline in their vehicles, or buy food. Oh, yes, and there’s the IRS waiting to insert its tentacles into those of us who are not part of the nomenklatura.
Watching helplessly as the grand edifice of criminality admits to its crimes with a shrug is … Disconcerting? Enraging? Discouraging?
Yes.
All these musings cause me to remind myself why I’m here and why I do what I do.
My anxiety has many parts. Some of it is physical, but I know that much of it is spiritual; I know that the enemy whispers into my “ears” and into those of so many:
“What you say and do don’t matter, so you might as well serve me because look at how my servants prosper!”
It’s the daily point.
1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
13 The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.
18 The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
28 For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
34 Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
40 And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
I thought about quoting just a few verses of the psalm, but the whole thing is valid.
“You keep pushing and pushing!”
That is what an old boyfriend said to me many years ago as a criticism and I have adopted it as a gift – a mantra. The streets of my beloved LA and so many other American cities are filled with people who stopped pushing back against the darkness.
Sometimes … okay often, I’m tempted to lay down. But in the last post, many of you let me know that my blather is not in vain, and I thank you.
I’m especially grateful for the tears.
Every day my battle is mostly internal, while the external is just a physical manifestation of that. And I know just as well as do most of you, that each day we wake up, there’s a new front in both prongs of this war.
Now you know more about mine. I’ll try to keep the balance between being open about it but not whining about it.
On to the next fight.
"I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance"
"I came not to spread peace, but a sword"
Hang in there Baldylocks!
I, at 84, young Lady, had a few more years of experiencing the America that was but we both had/saw/lived some of it and have cause to be extremely thankful.
Yep you're writing may not make the world better tonight or tomorrow but, as I think you saw from replies to your last posting, it provides comfort to many and insight to many many more.
Also, though we may be facing, shuck darn, are facing some lost dark years, perhaps lost generations, it's always possible your thoughts might just filter down to someone who really needs even generations from now. My opinion, for what it's worth, they do help many and they ain't gonna harm any.
So! To mix metaphors; Keep your nose to the grindstone, both feet on the floor, pen to the paper or fingers to the keyboard to the pixels and keep on truckin'!
& best wishes throughout the New Year from up here on top of the world!