“Consider my enemies, for they are many; and they hate me with a cruel [violent] hatred” (Psalm 25:19).
Dear Praying Friends:
Starting with Saul, envious of David's popularity, and including even his rebellious son Absalom, David constantly faced deadly foes.
So do we.
Theologians traditionally classify them as the world, the flesh, and the devil (see Ephesians 2:2-3, though the order there is different).
The world here does not refer to the beautifully created order, which displays God’s glory in almost infinite variety. Nor to everyone in the world, made in God’s image, but to a world system in rebellion against its King and its rightful Lord.
“For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but of the world” (1 John 2:16). In other words, the things and people who distract us from God, turn our minds and hearts from his Word, and lead us into temptation.
Today, that would especially include the digital world of the screen – from the massive, all-encompassing movie theater to the little guy who follows us wherever we go (Joshua 1:9), and in which we “meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:2).
Though not all of it is inherently evil, the endless emails, social media, news, advertisements, sports, dramas, computer games, pornography, and more can entrap, even enslave us. In fact, they are brilliantly designed to do just that: to make us addicts.
We can’t escape by our own ability, for behind them lies “a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Like David, we must pray to God for divine help, trusting in his far greater power (1 John 4:4).
Thank you for praying last week. The Lord prospered the women’s Bible study and the Chinese Sunday school class, which I led for the first time since they paused for a month.
“Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).
Yours in his victory,
Wright
Many Enemies