Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; and Your right hand will save me.

—Psalm 138:7-8

We, like David, walk in the midst of trouble, and so we, too, can expect the Lord to revive us. Notice that while David, as King, could expect God’s help in defeating their enemies, stretching out His hand against their wrath, we also know that there’s a future that is coming by the hand of God against the enemies of His chosen people, the Jews and the Church.

Paul wrote, “We . . . thank God always for you . . . because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we . . . boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment to God, . . . ” (2 Thes 1:3-10).

We live in the midst of trouble today, but we know that the right hand of God will save us and perfect that which concerns us because His mercy endures forever. He will never forsake the work of His hands. Our faith can and should grow exceedingly, and our love should abound. We need patience and faith while we endure persecutions. God will repay with tribulation those who trouble us when the Lord Jesus appears with His mighty angels from heaven taking vengeance on those who do not know God. He’s coming again to the earth with His saints. In the midst of trouble and perilous times, there’s an important truth regarding living in the last days: The mission of the church has always been to seek and to save our enemies! “You will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22; see also Matthew 10:34-39).

Before you were saved, you were God’s enemy. How did you get saved? Most likely, it was because one of God’s former enemies, who is now His friend, proclaimed to you the Word of God, or even brought you to church, and you heard, heeded, and were saved. We live in the midst of trouble, but that’s nothing new. David did too, 3,000 years ago, and so has every one of God’s chosen people since. Although some seasons of history have been more “Christian-friendly” than others, the last season to come will be the worst of all, and yet, our primary mission remains unchanged. We are still to preach to the homosexuals and the transvestites; preach to the cult member and the heretic the Word of God. Preach to the adulterer and the fornicator, the protestor and the rioter. Preach to the evolutionist, the atheist, the agnostic, the spiritualist, the liar, the thief, the Republican, and the Democrat—the Word of God. Our mission is to preach whether our message is popular or not, and it has always been our mission to save our enemies. That’s how you got saved, as did I! We’re living in the last days, friends. Reject any and all efforts to diminish the authority of the Word of God. Remain truthful. Don’t become tactical, trying to formulate a message and method that people will embrace. Remember: every person ever saved was once an enemy of God and filled with wickedness. We’re living in such times as in Noah’s day, but the mercy of the Lord endures forever, and that means that He is still unwilling that any should perish but that all should come to repentance!

Excerpt from “Beside Still Waters” now available on Amazon.

BARRY STAGNER