RIGHTEOUS VINDICATION

Someone sent a tweet out last night, quoting Psalm 35:24, and said to read the entire chapter of Psalm 35. I re-tweeted the message, as it spoke volumes to me. I have been dwelling on this Scripture overnight, and it is still on my heart this morning.

As I read the chapter this morning, I read and feel David’s anguish as he cries out to God to vindicate him.

The person who sent the tweet last night labeled it with hash tags to include all political parties, and rounded it out with #WeThePeople. This person gets it! This is a person that I would love to get to know better! It seems to me that this person has the same heart that I have. They are praying for this ENTIRE nation, not just “their” party affiliates, and those who believe and feel the way that they do.

I still believe with everything in me that this nation is in the place we are because of our own doing. We have failed to fall before the throne, beseeching God in our prayers, seeking His face for HIS will in our government, our homes, and our personal lives.

Today, I continue to pray for Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords full and speedy recovery. I pray for her family, the family of U.S. District Judge John Roll, the family of beautiful little Christina Taylor Green, the family of Dorwin Stoddard, the family of George and Dorothy Morris, the family of Gabe Zimmerman, the family of Phyllis Schneck, and lastly, Father God, I pray for Jared Loughner, the man that massacred these people. Yes, I pray for justice, in this horrible massacre, but I also pray for this mans soul. I pray for his family. I pray for righteous vindication in this horrible tragedy. I pray for this nation. I pray for our leaders. I pray for We The People of this nation- of ALL political party affiliations, that the blaming and power grabbing tactics will stop. I pray that we, as a nation, will humble ourselves before God Almighty, repent and turn from our wicked ways. This is the ONLY way our nation will be healed.

I will continue to stand up and fight for what is right. I do not mean the “right leanings” of politics, I mean what is good, and true and right according to God’s Word! (“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”  Philippians 4:8)

Obviously, my political affiliation is the “right”. However, in NO WAY do I believe that the “traditional right”- the Republican Party- is correct in all that they do and say. In fact, I believe that one of the main reasons for the moral decline in this country is because the CONSERVATIVE Party abandoned its core values and principles.

However, as a Bible believer, I believe that God has given EVERY one of us a CHOICE. We all have FREE WILL! He does not MAKE us believe in Him or accept His free gift of Salvation. He gives us a choice.

This country was founded by Divine Providence. You can argue with me if you would like, but you will never change my belief that the Divine hand of God Almighty was directly involved in the founding of The United States of America.

In the same way that God gives us a choice in our personal salvation, He gives us- this nation- a choice. We have always had a choice. When we rely on Him, trust in Him and seek His will, He will guide us.

I have no doubt that our Founding Fathers sought the face of God when they were writing our Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and other sacred documents that define our country. Yes, these are very sacred documents. I do not worship these documents, as it has been suggested by some politician, but I do most definitely respect these documents and believe they are defining cornerstones of what makes this nation great. I do most certainly believe in the exceptionalism of The United States of America, and I will not apologize for that.

Do I believe that personally I am better than anyone else in this world because I am an American? This is not AT ALL what I mean! We are all created by the hand of God Almighty. We were each created for a specific purpose. And we were each created in the time we are in, for such a time as this.

There have been many “such a time as this” in history. We can look back through the pages of our history and see many great leaders who have stood up in their time in history. There are some that I do believe were “before their time”, but by this I do not mean that they came at the wrong time in history. Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of these people in history that I believe was “before his time”. I believe he saw a vision of what the future should be, and stood up and fought to make that vision a reality. There were many who felt threatened by his vision, and sought to destroy him. In fact, they thought they succeeded in destroying him when he was assassinated. In reality, his voice has just become louder and stronger over the years since his death. They killed his body, but they did not kill his soul. They did not kill his legacy. They did not kill his message. They did not kill his fight.

There are many people throughout history that the same thing can be said of.

In going back to the Scripture in Psalm, I am reminded of another man who stood up for what was right, and his voice was silenced. He was the son of the King. Jonathon was the son of King Saul, David’s mortal enemy. Yet Jonathon defied his father to stand up for what was right. Things did not turn out all rosey and wonderful for Jonathon. He lost his life in battle just as his father did, because God had ordained David to be King of Israel, not Jonathon, as Saul wanted.

I pray that my resolve in life will be a mixture of David and Jonathon. I pray that I will continually stand up for what is right, and fight for what is right. But I pray that when it is obvious that my life is not going to be spared because of my faith in God, I will still stand strong, fighting and believe in what is right, according to God’s Word, no matter if it means I will lose my earthly life. I know that for me, as a Christ follower, to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)

As the hand of time slowly ticks by, and my years pass by quicker and quicker, I regret that I did not stand up as I am now. I cannot blame those who came before me for doing the exact same thing that I have done. I have been complacent most of my life. I have been born into privilege. Oh, I am by no means wealthy, according to the worlds standards. In fact, as a child, my family probably would have been classified as quite poor. However, I was rich even then, because I was born into a family who truly loves and supports each other. I was raised with values and morals. Oh, yes, my parents made their mistakes, just as everyone does. But I know that they raised me with morals and values.

But as I said, I have been complacent with the values I have been raised with. I took it for granted that these values are the values that everyone has. When I realized that this was not true, I still did not realize the importance of shining the light on what was right. Instead, I was complacent still, not realizing that it would eventually effect me.

Now, my complacency is gone. I am doing as the old Petra song says- I am getting on my knees and fighting for the values of this nation! No, I am not a man- I am a woman, but I am on my knees fighting like (as) a (wo)man of God.

Will you join me, America? We all have a choice. God does not force us to come before Him. Oh yes, one day, EVERY knee will bow before Him (Philippians 2:9-11). But each of us still has a choice. Are we going to continue to blame each other? Or are we going to go before God, seek His face, His will, and hold our leaders accountable for their actions that are not our values? Holding our leaders accountable comes by the ballot box, not violence! I am by no means saying that I will stand idly by, with my head in the sand, and not physically fight if that is what it comes to.  But I pray, oh how I pray with desperation that this country will not become another war zone, physically fighting for the freedoms that are so precious to us as a nation. Wars have been fought in our nations history for the freedoms we enjoy today. Many lives have been given, many drops of blood have been shed, and many tears have fallen to ensure us the freedom we so take for granted today! If it becomes necessary, yes, I will lay down my life, if that is what it takes, to fight for the freedom of this great nation. Many have paid the price for my freedom, and I will stand and take their place to fight for the freedom of my children and grand-children.

Today, God Almighty, I pray the words that David prayed to you in Psalm 35. I pray this prayer for this great nation, Lord God. Those in leadership and government that mean to destroy this nation, I pray that You will righteously vindicate those of us who call You Lord and praise Your Name.

“Contend for me, my God and Lord.
Vindicate me in your righteousness, LORD my God May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace.
May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.”
My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praises all day long.”