When Truth Is Trampled

"Justice is turned away backward and righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) stands far off; for truth has been trampled in the street (the city's forum), and uprightness cannot enter the courts of justice. Yes, truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. And the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice."
                                                                                                                               Isaiah 59:14-15




The conflict in our nation continues to escalate. If you had to narrow the scope of what is so conflictual, you could narrow it to the battle of truth and lies. What once was upheld and honored and esteemed is tragically being trampled underfoot by the masses. It would seem that the only apparent standard we hold as a nation is that we have no standards.

There was a day when we could count on the judicial system or the F.B.I. or the Department of Justice or even the media to sound the alarm of the injustices in our land. However, that is no longer true. Partisanship is the order of the day and it no longer bears any resemblance to the Biblical truths outlined for us in God's Word.

During the lifetime of the prophet, Isaiah, he also encountered the battle between truth and lies. The rulers of his time were so wicked that he compared them to pregnant women giving birth to sin (Isaiah 33:11; 59:4). He also noticed similarities of them to snakes hatching their eggs and to spiders weaving their webs (Isaiah 59:5-6).

Isaiah understood that no matter how intricate or organized their web of deceit was that ultimately that would prove to be the very thing that brought about their destruction. The apostle, James, confirms this when he states that "every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire. Then, the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin. When it is fully matured, it brings forth death" (James 1:14-15).

God is never pleased with injustice. When we see it in our land it is a clarion call from heaven to intercede and intervene. Prayer and fasting for our nation is a necessity. And, when we see that truth is being trampled, it is incumbent upon the people of God to lift it up, exalt it, and make it known. Only God can save our nation, but He does call His people to partner in what He is doing.

We cannot shrink back or profess ignorance (Proverbs 24:11-12). The more critical the times, the more vocal we should be. There are too many people being deceived by the lies. There are too many people on the slippery slope of destruction.

The Truth is not democratic, or republican, or libertarian. It is not opinionated or biased. We do not need political correctness in our land; we need Biblical correctness that will revive us into the nation we are called to be. The Truth is not a nebulous construct; The Truth is a person and that person is Jesus Christ.

It is His words that need to be lifted up. It is His characteristics that need to be emulated. It is His heart that needs to be sought in the midst of so much chaos and turbulence in our land.

When we do this collectively, there are certain promises that God makes to us that we can take to the bank. One such promise is found in the very same chapter of the book of Isaiah. It states, "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him and put him to flight [for He will come like a rushing stream which the breath of the Lord drives]" (Isaiah 59:19).

In other words, God will intervene on our behalf. He will zealously and divinely mediate what we cannot. The result of His intervention will be salvation and the fear of the Lord, and He will be glorified!

He will covenant with every person that turns from their sin and walks in the truth. He says, "As for Me, this is My covenant or league with them, says the Lord: My Spirit, Who is upon you [and who writes the law of God inwardly on your heart], and My words which I have put inn your mouth shall not depart... nor will they depart out of the mouths of your [true, spiritual] children, or out of the mouths of your children's children, says the Lord from henceforth and forever" (Isaiah 59:21).

When God's glory shows up, all things are made new. It begins with His grace in our lives and ultimately becomes His glory. Jonathan Edwards said, "Grace is but glory begun, and glory is but grace perfected."

For so many Christians in our nation, this past season has been an extremely difficult one. Could it be that God is perfecting His grace within us? Could it be that it is God's plan in this next season to be glorified in His Church?

His glory dwells within us. It is the Light that will pierce our dark culture and our dark world. It is what God will use to draw all men to Himself, when we look up and lift Him up.

Lovingly and mercifully, we extend our hand to those who are being deceived. Not to prove we are right or that we have all the answers. We reach out as the tangible hands of Jesus so that others know they are valued. They are loved.

We let go of judgment and defuse the conflict that we see. When we humbly and truthfully recognize that we are all merely sinners saved by grace, we will joyfully extend that same grace to those around us. This is how genuine believers respond when we acknowledge that The Truth has been trampled in our land.


"He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to act justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?"
                                                               Micah 6:8