Great elation

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

GREAT ELATION

Prov 28:12

12 When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, men go into hiding.

NIV

We have read of this situation happening throughout the ages. There were righteous kings and Israel was blessed and when evil kings succeeded them Israel became a horrible place to live. It is also the history of England because the Monarch is the head of the church. When a righteous king or queen ruled the church, Christians could openly worship without fear of persecution. Our historians tell us the Edward VI and Mary I were evil and the word of God was needed to be hidden. It was not free and open for use, Christians needed to go into hiding. We have read of this same kind of treatment of Christians in China as well as other countries even in our modern times. We do not see this truth bore our in our country as much as those of other countries and of past years. Yet when we have a President who is open to the gospel it seems there is an elation in the general population and especially in the church. We have also had some Presidents who, perhaps not openly, but more covertly oppose the gospel message. Yet we might also see this truth not as a country, but as a personal experience. When we understand the truth of our righteousness, when we get it, that God has declared us righteous and blameless in his sight, we experience a great elation in our spirit, soul and body. We have great joy knowing God sees us through the blood of Jesus, that although we may still have failures, faults, or sin in our lives, God does not see us as sinners, but as saints, his children, and co-heirs with Jesus. But when our wickedness overtakes us, when we think we are not so holy, not so blameless, not doing what is right, we might tend to try to hide ourselves. Certainly we cannot hide from God, but maybe we can hide from the truth. It is possible we could get down on ourselves, become disillusioned and maybe even depressed because we cannot be holy, we cannot keep from sinning, and we are simply not able to be good enough. So we put on that façade, so we still look good to others, but more importantly, we look good to ourselves. We pretend all is well, when we know it is not. We are hiding beneath that shiny exterior. This could be a cyclical experience we go through during the course of our lives. Times of elation, and times of hiding. We need to always remember we live in Christ, Christ lives in us. We are the expression of God, not just to the world, but to ourselves. Even with sin in our lives, in the physical, we are born of God in the spirit. That will never change, he has declared us innocent. We can live in constant elation because we have a righteous ruler. We can live without fear because our God reigns. There is no reason to hide our faith. There is no reason to hide our sin. There is no reason to hide from ourselves. For righteousness reigns in the heavens, in this earth and within our spirits. Let us rejoice, let is live with great elation.