There are two things we as people are quick to forget.

One is the power and might of Almighty God and His desire to bless those who seek Him.

The other thing we shove to the back of our minds is the power of the Word of God – spoken, written, memorized, thought about, etc.

God is not dead nor is His hand slack.

The Apostle Peter reminds us, in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” God is waiting for us to believe Him and take action on that belief.

The tide of evil is relentless. It rises and inundates everything in its path. The only thing that can turn back evil is the power of the Word of God. God says of His word, in the New Testament book of Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 12, “The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Godless men have more fear of the Word of God than the average Christian. They are so fearful that they ban the possession of Bibles, seek to remove any vestige of the Holy Scriptures from public view, while we who may own multiple Bibles allow them to collect dust and are too timid to simply share the most powerful force in the universe.
Any thinking person would have to agree that the world is drifting away from absolute truth. The world is drifting because the church is drifting. A cross section of the average church looks so much like the world that people can see no difference.

Why is this happening? It is because there is a dearth of the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. Anytime the preacher is dependent on those he preaches to for his living, there will subsequently be the soft pedaling of the declaration of the whole counsel of God.

In the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, the situation in Jerusalem looked very similar to what we are seeing today. In chapter 22, the prophet Ezekiel cried out against idolatry and the shedding of innocent blood. The innocent blood in those days was the sacrifice of children to false gods.

In our day, it is the slaughter of the unborn on the altar of convenience and irresponsible pleasure. Ezekiel went on to say, in verses 7-8 of chapter 22, “In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the alien and mistreated the fatherless and the widow. You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths.”

Those people do the same things we do; they run after comfort and security, which they never find, and stumble over the obvious commands of God which, when obeyed, bring great blessing from God.

God declared, in Ezekiel, chapter 22, verse 30, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” There was nobody in that day who took a stand for God. The nation went into captivity and all that their civilization had produced was destroyed.

Jesus Christ the Son of God did stand up for us. He took the judgment God destined for us on Himself and set us free by His sacrifice on the cross. God vindicated the sacrifice of Jesus by raising Him from the dead. All who will give their lives to Him in faith will become children of God and will enjoy heaven with Him.

In the meantime, we (the people of God) are here, immersed in society waiting for God to deliver us. God desires to show Himself strong in behalf of someone-anyone-“whose [heart is] fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Where are the “gap fillers”? Who will stand for God and His Word in these days? God is waiting.

The Rev. Dan Puckett is a minister with Life Action Ministries.