The Great Divide

Daily trust. Moment by moment.

The world really is set against Him. From the inside out. Such that interaction is a very strange thing, some days, especially being called to walk in such a way as maintains peace with all others so long as it depends upon me.
 Not to knowingly create offense, except as the Lord does sometimes direct to speak truth and take a stand for truth, blatantly.

The world doesn't have a problem with giving lip-service, just speaking without any significant meaning behind the words. Not a problem at all. No issue with folks giving proclamations regarding truth, so long as there's no real insistence upon core, vital absolutes which countermand and denounce self-indulgences.

So long as the shades spoken don't actually deride mankind's insistence upon self-determination and self-realization and the capabilities of our intellect.
So long as there's no real, living reminder of God's sovereignty and omnipotence.

So long as there's no call to abandon self-will in favor of accepting that God's will is supreme and overshadows every single aspect of our lives.

So long as there's no reminder that each of us are wretched beyond imagining, for ever having turned even a partial glance away from the goodness of God and abject love unto obedience to Him.

So long as there's no serious consideration of the fact that we all deserve absolute demolition per wrath due us, per ever having even given serious consideration to relying upon ourselves (to the inherent exclusion of absolute dependence upon God, for which we were designed)...let alone having done so.

If there's any room left to allow a minor bit of doubtful consideration akin to, "well, really how bad can it be just to depend upon my own senses for direction?"...we're effectively still calling God a liar and exalting ourselves.

He said so. And like Paul recorded, if all the world decides to consider that wrong or short-sighted, then all mankind is to be considered a liar, while yet God is ever true.

The world is fine with wishy-washy in betweens which allow room for doubt and allow a lot of room for compromise and inconsistencies. It can mock that along with its own self-mocking, degrading lifestyle.

But the world doesn't well abide being told it's wrong, in terms which effectively exalt the truth of who God is and what He's done and is doing.

As long as room for doubt persists, the world may tend to have a lot of influence.

We're called to be in the world but not of it. Yet how much do we each compromise? When we're blessed in material goods and even social prosperity, especially. There's such a latent human (fallen) tendency to rely very heavily on anything visible, tangible instead of upon God, even if as being "in addition" to reliance upon Him.

The most merciful thing He could do would be to draw us near to Himself and cleanse us of these idols by whatever means necessary. Such that we could worship more fully in spirit and truth, trusting more fully and unwaveringly, being less burdened by all or anything because of a more complete reliance upon Him. So much less stress, that way, if every moment were given to rejoicing. If every moment were known to be wholly held in His hands.

And if His love were more fully comprehended, and His will toward us were more fully realized. For our eyes having been more fully cleared and our ears more fully unstopped.

The terror of seeing the actual state of the world is relieved in direct proportion to depth of awareness of the truth of who God is, especially as increasingly remaining conscious of His abiding love and of His present help and good will toward us...relieved in proportion then to intimacy of relationship with Him, in pure and spiritual terms.

He directs these things, though. Even inspiring a desire in us to be nearer Him--He manifests that within our hearts, or otherwise we'd remain insensate.

Ask Him.
Trust Him.
He does help.