Recently at a city in Northern Idaho, a church gathered to have “Psalm Sing” in front of City Hall. They had been granted permission to do so. At one point, they apparently disobeyed the “social distancing/mask wearing” guidelines and police showed up. It made the news, of course. There was a bit of disagreement over whether the church provoked the response it got. I was not there, so cannot judge.
However, they came back a second night and other churches joined them. This time there was no police presence, several state legislators took part, and it was a peaceful “Psalm Sing,” – except for one thing. This time protestors surrounded them with drums and acoustic instruments to try to disrupt and drown them out. From what I understand, those gathered just kept on singing.
The protestor’s response was nothing new. It has happened before. There are ample instances in the Bible where those who oppose the message and work of God have tried to discourage God’s people. When the remnant of Israel returned from captivity in Babylon, they set about to re-build the destroyed temple and city. That annoyed those non-Israelites who were now occupying Jerusalem and they sought to disrupt the work.
Ezra 4:4-5: “Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.”
Opposition is nothing new. Opposition to our Creator God has been around since the Garden, and two of the main tactics the enemy of our soul uses are discouragement and fear. I think that is why the Scriptures contain so many references to “Fear Not,” and commands to “encourage one another.”
So beloved, do not be surprised if you find opposition to your walk with the LORD in this world. It is a given!
