Day 41 with David: We can have joy in the Lord’s salvation even when surrounded by evil plotters.

“The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! You have given him his heart’s desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah His glory is great in Your salvation; Honor and majesty You have placed upon him. For they intended evil against You; They devised a plot which they are not able to perform. Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭21:1-2, 5, 11-12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

OK, I’ll admit it, I wish everybody liked me. When I was younger I remember going into situations assuming that I would be liked. You see, I thought that other people were like me: I “liked” people until they gave me a reason not to like them. I soon came to find out that some people have the exactly opposite philosophy; they dislike until they find some reason to like. Even beyond that, there are some people who are going to dislike you just because of what you stand for (in their estimation). That being the case, we should actually wear as a badge of honor the fact that some people do not like us. Their disdain of us only confirms that we are standing in opposition to the kingdom they serve: the kingdom of this world. Sadly, I have seen people do ridiculous things in order to get the approval of this or that group of people. They have gone against their principles, wise counsel, and even the threat of eternal consequences, just to fit into a group or to prove that they are somehow cool or relevant.

Now—turning back to the topic of people disliking us—it even goes past the point of people not liking those who stand in opposition to their philosophy or way of being and doing; they begin to plot against those who might shed light on their evil agenda. Remember, evil is not “happy” just being able to be evil; evil wants to destroy all that is good and take away all the rights of those who they see as being in opposition to their agendas.

“Woe to those who devise iniquity, And work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it, Because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and take them by violence, Also houses, and seize them. So they oppress a man and his house, A man and his inheritance.”

‭‭Micah‬ ‭2:1-2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Yes, the Bible has a lot to say about evil plotters; none of it’s good. Sadly, their end will not be good either. But no matter how much evil may plot against you, no matter how much evil may desire to take ultimate control, in the end, we win!

In our portion from Psalms today we see that David is expressing his great joy in the salvation of the Lord, even in the face of evil plotters. He is identifying with God, and the ultimate salvation of the Lord, knowing that he is on the Lord’s side. We saw this sentiment expressed in another place in the psalms early on in our journey with David. Consider this portion from Psalms 2:

“Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure:”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭2:1-5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Make no mistake, if you base your happiness, your joy, your sense of well-being, on whether or not people are plotting against you, I’m guessing you’re never going to have joy or true happiness. Why? If you stand for righteousness, if you are a light shining in darkness, you are necessarily a target. At once, we are a light showing the way to those who seek to be rescued from their dismal state, however, those who have thrown in with the side of evil, can all the better see you because of your light. But, no matter how hard evil tries, no matter how—at times—it may seem to have succeeded, we can take joy in the salvation of the Lord. Remember, evil plotters can’t plot their way out of hell, nor can they plot our way out of the loving care of our Father and our ultimate home with Him.

For today let us know and understand what David knew:

We can have joy in the Lord’s salvation even when surrounded by evil plotters.

#100dayswithdavid