DON'T FOOL YOURSELF

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy.

Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the plots of evildoers. They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like deadly arrows. They shoot from ambush at the innocent; they shoot suddenly, without fear.

They encourage each other in evil plans, they talk about hiding their snares; they say, “Who will see it?” They plot injustice and say, “We have devised a perfect plan!” Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.

But God will shoot them with His arrows; they will suddenly be struck down. He will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn. All people will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what He has done.

The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him; all the upright in heart will glory in Him!

Psalm 64

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How many times have we seen it?

How many times have we seen people think they have concocted the perfect scheme, one that will surely work to the desired end, one that certainly work perfectly? Typically these plans are evil in nature, meant to either fulfill the perpetrators selfish desires or denigrate an opponent. Sometimes people work alone in their conniving. Still other times it is a group effort. Either way, those who have plotted never go forward thinking they will not succeed.

Now think about how many times these plots actually succeeded. More often than not, no matter how airtight the planning may have been, something seems to happen that the schemer didn’t count on. And that something leads to the plan being foiled and the offenders brought to justice.

Think that happens by chance? Think again.

For as we see in the 64th Psalm, David does a good job explaining that the deeds of the wicked are fruitless. Consider his words:

Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy.

Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the plots of evildoers. They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like deadly arrows. They shoot from ambush at the innocent; they shoot suddenly, without fear.

They encourage each other in evil plans, they talk about hiding their snares; they say, “Who will see it?” They plot injustice and say, “We have devised a perfect plan!” Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.

But God will shoot them with His arrows; they will suddenly be struck down. He will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn. All people will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what He has done.

The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him; all the upright in heart will glory in Him!

David knew all about evil scheming. It was happening to him.

We know his life was threatened by the conspiracy of the wicked against him. The evil doers encouraged one another in their sinful plans and thought their shrewdness would go undetected by anyone. In fact, they proclaimed that their devised plan was perfectly contrived by their cunning hearts and minds.

Funny how things seem to never change for today we see people still trying to get away with things, using their seemingly cunning hearts and minds to manifest evil, sinful deeds – all in the spirit of getting away with it because they believe their plan is perfect.

And this leads us to one other thing that has never changed across time. God has always frustrated the schemes of the wicked. David knew this fully. He knew God would shoot down any sinful plan and remove the “perfect” label permanently. People might be cunning but nothing is concealed from an all knowing, all seeing God. God strikes down evil plots and then strikes down those who devise and execute them. It is God who passes ultimate judgment on the wicked, bringing them to ruin and leaving them scorned.

The truth of the matter is that God is in control and cannot be deceived. Ever. A seemingly perfect evil plot will be defeated by a perfectly judging God ten times out of ten, leaving all in awe and wonder over His works as they ponder what He does.

Friends, why do we even try to get away with sinful acts? For nothing is concealed from God. Not in the times of David, not today, and not in future times.

Keep that in mind next time you think your cunningness might trump God’s judgment. If you’re contemplating it, I have three words for you:

Don’t fool yourself.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com