Standing outside, waiting on the first bell to ring, I observed the activity on the school campus and the passing traffic on the adjacent busy street. I was wearing my typical black and white saddle oxfords with white socks. This was the first year girls were allowed to wear pants to school, but I continued to wear dresses most days. I was in seventh grade in the early 1970s and only had a couple pair of pants. As my eyes moved across the landscape, deep sadness gripped my heart while revelation dawned. America was in decline. Divorce was more common with multiple marriages. Broken homes, broken lives, drug use, and alcohol use were increasing. Overdose was added to the vocabulary. Firmly seated foundations were being challenged and destroyed. No one was stopping the progression. Profound despair gripped my heart. Then the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the school day.

Since that time, I have experienced a replay of that day on random occasions through the years, with the accompanying emotions and wistfulness for what I perceived as better days. I once enjoyed browsing in flea markets and antique malls. Thumbing through vintage school yearbooks, papers, and magazines, I noticed the orderliness in classrooms, the appearance of people on the pages, and the activities of family life. This was not the norm at the school I attended. Frequent fights broke out on the campus, a female student was raped after school, and another student pulled a knife on the assistant principal. The social functions of yesteryear could no longer be conducted safely. I longed for the previous world that had changed drastically. I was angry that no one had protected what was good, just, and true. Chaos and confusion had displaced the natural established order, without consideration for the eventual consequences.

The familiar memory has returned, evoking despair and mourning for our world, triggering tearful prayers. The reactions in my youth pale in comparison to the present weight of burden. The 1970s appear tame in contrast to our current society; however, evil always has been destructive. Evil reproduces evil, and nothing good comes from evil. I continue to pray, as do countless numbers of people in our nation and around the world, for God to intervene. Evil does not retreat and has to be defeated. Believers are standing in faith, in prayer, with expectancy, for God’s righteousness to prevail against the blatant evil that has escalated to levels not seen in the past. Intensity will amplify. Momentum will increase in a rotational whirl of power that will rise from God Almighty. Though evident to all, many will not understand what they are witnessing—too busy snapping photos, recording videos, posting on social media, not perceiving the supernatural entrance of Holy Spirit. This battle belongs to the LORD and I look to Him in victory, while continuing to pray and praise.

“You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it.” – Isaiah 45:8.

“So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.” – Isaiah 59:19.

“Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.” – Psalm 108:12-13.

“…O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” – II Chronicles 14:11.

“For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.” – Isaiah 61:11.

“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” – Isaiah 45:22.