“Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but they that are wise shall understand” (Daniel 12: 10).
This is one of the many events that will happen at the end of time. We have it upfront that the wicked shall do more wickedly and we are seeing evidence of this day by day. Apostle Paul in the epistle 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 1 said in the last days perilous times will come. So expectations that things will get better are misplaced but amid the darkness and difficult times, the people of God will shine and will do valiant for it will be a time of distinction.
Our Lord Jesus also assured us that in this world we would have tribulation but we are to be of good cheer for He has overcome for us the world and the one who pulls the strings. We also have the word of assurance in the epistle of John chapter 5 verse 4: ” For everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has conquered and overcome the world—our [continuing, persistent] faith [in Jesus the Son of God]”. Having these assurances of our victory, how do we save ourselves from this untoward generation, from the works of men which will prove more wickedly as we see the present age unwind? Thank God for He has not left us without a way out. In Psalm 17 verse 4 we read: “Concerning the works of men, by the words of thy lips, I have kept myself from the paths of the destroyer”. It is our responsibility to keep ourselves by the word of the LORD, the word of His power from the paths of the destroyer.
It is good to reiterate to the people of God that the difficult days ahead are for our distinction, not our destruction. We have not been appointed unto wrath to be consumed, but we have been appointed in Christ to obtain mercy and salvation (1 Thessalonians 5: 9). This is to help us position ourselves well. By the word of God, we keep ourselves from the paths of the destroyer. This means that in this word of God, we are to meditate in, study it, declare it, observe to do it, and obey its instructions. This is a time to know both the letter and the spirit of the word so that we might receive adequate instructions from the word. Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD (Deuteronomy 8: 3). This is an instruction for all generations and our obedience to it puts us on a right pedestal.
When we declare what we see, what we are doing is, we are reiterating the paths of the destroyer, but when we declare what we want by the word of God, though it is not what we see, we in principle, uncover the channel of blessings and the foundation of what ought to be (Psalm 18:15). The book of Proverbs declares in chapter 18 verse 20 that a man’s belly shall be filled with the fruit of his lips. Our words are not ordinary, they have an impact. The bible in the book of Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3 declares that the LORD upholds all things by the word of His power. When we declare the word of God, we acknowledge His power and we also declare a manifestation of His power to uphold situations of our concerns. We are not to declare His word in panic but in faith, meaning that His word must ever be present with us, in it we meditate, we study it and we do it. So when we declare the word over situations, it is out of store of what we have, what we believe, and what we live by. We are to live by faith and not react in panic, and the words we thus declare will have an impact. God has said His word will not return to Him void (Isaiah 55: 11) and His word shall no longer be delayed (Ezekiel 12: 28), we must be careful not to make the word of God void in our lives by our non-faith lifestyle.
The story of David and Goliath typifies how we can save ourselves from the paths of the destroyer. Goliath with his towering height, his armor and instruments of war, his intimidating testimony, and his terror-inducing boast, presents the characteristics of a typical destroyer, very imposing. The army of Israel and their non-faith lifestyle forgot the God they have and served in the face of the present intimidating threat. They listened daily to the rehearsed threat and boast of Goliath and they were afraid. Until David came and the dynamics changed. It takes God one man to make a difference and David was that man. David was an ordinary lad who knew his God and remembered the covenant of his God. He was not versed in the art of war but he was strong in faith. He had no respect or fear for the intimidating posture of Goliath but had respect only for the words of the covenant. He was not cowed like the army of Israel but ran towards Goliath declaring the word of the LORD and he overcame the destroyer, Goliath, and all that he represented.
Here’s a lesson for us to inspire our faith, our trust, and our confidence in God. If concerning the works of man the word of God is to help us and keep us from the paths of the destroyer, it follows that we must trust in the LORD and His word. Meaning, we must stay in the word even when physical events are contrary. God is not a man that He should lie, neither is He son of man that He should repent. He is God and by the words of His lips, we keep ourselves from the paths of the destroyer in the perilous times that we are in.
