Weeping by the Rivers

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered…There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked for our songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy… How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land” Psalm 137:1-4.

Well I must say that this past Saturday is one I hope to forget. I allowed the outrage and divisiveness of social media to steal any hope that I was feeling regarding the future movement of God. To move from the inaugural prayers from those certain individuals who truly love Jesus to the onslaught of Saturday, I was left sitting by the rivers of Babylon weeping. I was so saddened by my captors, those who demanded me to sing a different song…a song ripping apart others…a song where it’s alright to slander the name of people I don’t even know. There was no singing on Saturday for me…nothing but sadness… reflection…remembering…longing for a day where Jesus was King and man took his humble posture as servant.

As always though God was faithful through the night to remind me of the prayers of this Christian nation over the past couple of years begging for delivery. He reminded me that I must not hang out by the rivers long, allowing the toxic poison to enter my mind. I must take every thought captive that does not build, encourage, comfort, and replace it with life-giving words. He reminded me that the process of delivery is ugly…messy…painful. These days are the labor pains of future delivery and we must stay focused on the work of the Lord who is delivering this nation. We must continue to play our harps…singing and praising God as He works on our behalf. We must hang our joy on the hope of Jesus instead of the discouraging circumstances and playing to the tune of hate.

Reading the hateful things on social media is like returning to a terrible train wreck to get another look. We have passed by that and must not turn around but move forward in God’s process in turning our hearts back to Him. But it begins with us...if our words don't speak honorable and pure things we shouldn't say them. If our posts tear down others we must remove our fingers from the keys. If our comments on posts have a motive to jab others we must walk away. Sometimes the best posture we can take is silence.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” Philippians 4:8. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on the things above, where Christ is…Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:1-2.