I remember the first time I heard a car backfire. The loud and piercing sound broke through the normal sounds of life and got my attention. The backfire was the sound of something coming to life.
No matter the depths of evil being planned and expressed in our world, the Lord will be faithful to interfere with those plans and their planned execution to bring about an opportunity for redemption. The plans of evil and the traps that have been laid for others will become a pit into which the evil ones will eventually fall.
The sound of Godly backfires will announce a change of direction. These backfires are beginning to sound across our nation and within some parts of the Church.
“The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others. Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set. The Lord is known for his justice. The wicked are trapped by their own deeds” (Psalm 7: 15-16).
Backfires are the sounds of God’s justice redeeming what is unjust. In God’s redeeming process, He will rule with fairness offering even the guilty an opportunity to repent, “He will judge the world with justice and rule the nations with fairness” (Psalm 9:8). The justice and fairness of God is how He chooses to rule the nations. Without those two elements at work in us, we will devolve into retribution for those who require redemption.
We need to interpret the sounds of these Godly backfires with a heart of mercy, not vengeance, “The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others. Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set. The Lord is known for his justice. The wicked are trapped by their own deeds” (vs. 15-16). It is an act of mercy to release those trapped in their evil plans. Paul was released from such a trap when the Lord appeared to him on the Road to Damascus and redeemed him from his evil plan to become an apostle to the Church.
Our willingness to redeem, not punish, will reveal the condition of our hearts. Hopefully, that discovery will reveal that our hearts are aligned with God, not the voices of a merciless and vengeful crowd determined to punish, not cooperate with the Lord’s plan of redemption.
Thanks Garris for your years of faithful service! Merry Christmas to you and your precious family! Love you. We miss the Big Sky country. Lord willing we will get back there one day.