December 13

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There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man. Then I said: ‘Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised…’. Ecclesiastes 9:14-16

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🔊 Solomon here told a whole epic story in a few words – it is intriguing, and it would be very interesting to know more details. The fact is that when a righteous man or woman walks with God, they have an impact on the world around them far out of proportion to what others notice, or history records. God said to Abraham that He would not destroy Sodom if He found ten righteous people there. If He had found them, those ten would never have known in this life that their presence had turned aside God’s wrath. God says often in the Old Testament that He sought for a single person to stand in the gap. One man or woman who walks with God can turn the tide of evil in a place. That individual can prick the conscience of multitudes who will never mention it – they may, for instance, challenge traders to be truthful, or gossips to hold their tongues. Politics is the art of managing a nation’s defences, finances, schools and so on. But the defence of a nation is not ultimately in the hands of governments – it is in the hands of God, and He looks to righteous people to determine what He will do. A righteous person is righteous because they have been reconciled with God. They have touched reality through repentance and faith. How the world mocks and demons sneer at the righteous, but do not be discouraged and do not expect applause. Follow through and be a delight to God. He will stand with the righteous; a world without you would be a dark and hopeless place.