LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL By Pastor Mensa Otabil

Tuesday 9th February 2021

WHY THEY FIGHT THE LORD

Scripture Reading: Psalm 2

The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.” Psalm 2:2-3

The psalmist is amazed at the plans of the kings and rulers of the earth to resist the Lord. He is astonished by the sheer audacity of human rulers who think they can overturn God’s purposes.

In the passage, we see how the kings and rulers proceed to oppose the will of the Lord.

They do two things:

  1. They set themselves. That means they organize themselves to hatch a plan that is opposite to that of the Lord.
  2. They take counsel. That means they conspire and collaborate together. Those who oppose the Lord join up with others who share their rage.

Both of these actions are directed against the Lord and the Lord’s anointed. They are against the Lord because they do not want to submit to His authority.

That is why Satan rebelled against God in the first place. It is also the reason why he continues to recruit men and women to rebel against God. Sadly, many prominent and brilliant people in our world have fallen for this anti-God and anti-Christ trap.

They are also against the Lord’s anointed. In the Old Testament, the Lord’s anointed were the High Priest, the prophet and the king. In today’s passage, the ‘anointed’ refers to the king. In the New Testament, the ‘anointed’ is the born-again believer filled with the Holy Spirit.

Just as people set themselves against the anointed in the Old Testament, so do agents of the enemy set themselves against the anointed today.

Don’t be amazed when people of power and influence set themselves against the Lord in our world today. Don’t be shaken when you see people fight you simply because you honour the Lord and submit to His rule.

What did the kings and rulers of the earth want? They wanted to break God’s power over them. They saw the acknowledgement of God and His laws as bonds that held them captive.

They hated the law of the Lord. They hated the believers in Christ who promoted God and His rule. The struggle we see in this Psalm is present in our world today.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I am grateful for your anointing on my life. Help me to uphold your rule in my world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.