5 Ways to Live With Hope in a Declining Culture

Are you discouraged about the state of your culture? Today I will share 5 ways to live with hope in a declining culture with you.

A Glimpse of Hope

Yesterday afternoon, I drove east toward my church and saw something interesting. I always wear sunglasses while driving, because I hate squinting.

I saw a rainbow in the east, and removed my glasses to see it more clearly. But with my glasses off, the rainbow all but disappeared from sight. I slid them back on and it came right back into view. A puzzling paradox – why couldn’t I see it better all on my own, with my 20/20 vision?

I think this is an accurate picture of the way God’s hope is appearing for us in these challenging times. His hope may be somewhat easier to see in the darkness, as opposed to the bright, “normal” views to which we have become accustomed. We must intentionally scan our times for signs of hope, despite the darkness that has settled over our culture. Hope is right there, waiting for us to find, because God’s promises are true.

Remember that the rainbow is a sign of God’s promise to never again destroy the earth with a flood. It’s a promise God has kept for centuries. A sign of hope we see only during or after a storm. I was driving through a single cloud of falling rain when I spied the rainbow, which was hovering in a blue eastern sky for just a few moments.

God wanted me to see this sign of hope with my dark glasses on, rather than without them. There are more truths and signs of hope he wants you and I to see in the darkness, rather than outside of it.

A Culture in Decline

My audience is primarily American, but the following may apply to other cultures as well. I pray this information educates you as it did me.

Around 2007, I listened to a week-long radio series on the state of America, presented by Focus on the Family. It focused on the decline of our culture and what our future may look like, based on biblical prophecies. I had grown up in a denomination that spent precious little focus on biblical prophecy, and I drank in the sober teachings like water.

Soon after, I began reading books to educate myself. The one I found most helpful was Dr. David Jeremiah’s book, What in the World Is Going On?, published in 2008. On pages 134-135, he shares research that all of the world’s great civilizations lasted only about two hundred years. Each nation progressed through the exact same sequence:

1. Bondage
2. Spiritual Faith
3. Courage
4. Liberty
5. Abundance
6. Complacency
7. Apathy
8. Dependence
9. Return to Bondage

Which point do you think your culture is in on this sequence? I believe, along with many others, that our problems began with the sexual revolution in the 1960’s, which followed the abundance after World War II. We have been in a cultural landslide at least since that time, which is leading us further from liberty and abundance and closer to dependence and bondage.

I despise this cultural decline, which began before I was even born. Yet I trust that God designated us to live in times such as these, for specific purposes as a faithful remnant of believers. It’s no surprise to God that our culture is where it is now, due to poor choices many have made in the past. It’s time we educate ourselves on God’s truth and live with intention instead of acting with complacency and apathy.

How to Live with Hope in a Culture of Decline

I am gaining perspective and comfort right now by reading the book of Isaiah, my favorite book of the Bible.  In Isaiah 5, we read about God’s judgment poised for the tribe of Judah. In the first few verses, he described the favorable position God created for Judah. God wanted the tribe to display justice, but they chose oppression. God wanted righteousness from Judah, but they acted with violence.

This is what Isaiah stated in verses 12 and 13:

“…they never think about the Lord
or notice what he is doing.

So my people will go into exile far away
because they do not know me.”

Another clue about Judah’s attitude is in verse 21:

“What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes
and think themselves so clever.”

In verse 24, Isaiah explained why God was acting against Judah:

“For they have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies;
they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.”

We can learn how to live in these troubled times by applying the truths in these verses. To be clear, Old Testament prophecy about the tribes of Israel does not have direct correlations for the United States or any other country today. Yet the overriding principles are similar and hold both warnings and encouragement for us.

I’ve pulled five applications from Isaiah 5 for us today:

1. Think about the Lord. (vs. 12)

Practicing self-control in your thought life is crucial to stand firm in this declining culture.
You must think about God’s character and ways, as well as his will for your life, much MORE than you think about anything else.

More than what you see on the news or on social media. More than the discussions you have with your friends and family.

When you think about God’s ways and will, you’ll be protected from spiritual attacks and more fruitfully engaged in the culture.

2. Notice what God is doing. (vs. 12)

God is still at work, even in our dark times. Especially in our dark times.

Don’t believe everything you see, hear or read online. Remember that our culture is sliding toward apathy, dependence and bondage, and don’t join in that downward slide.

Ask the Holy Spirit to give you clues to how he is at work in your world every day. I guarantee he will answer that daily prayer in surprising, joyful and hopeful ways you never expected.

You’ll be seeing rainbows everywhere even when skies are grey, friend.

3. Know the Lord well. (vs. 13)

Have you gone through the motions of the Christian life, but not yet drawn truly close to God as your…

• Father
• Provider
• Protector
• Savior
• Friend
• Shepherd
• Advocate
• Counselor

Those are just a few of his names you can discover in his Word.

The more you open your heart to him through prayer, the deeper your relationship can be with your Lord, and the better protected you will be from the storms of this culture. There has never been a better time to really get to know the one who created you for such a time as this.

4. Do not be wise in your own eyes. (vs. 21)

One of the characteristic sins in our declining culture is arrogance. People cling to their own opinions as if they are gospel truths. But God rewards those who have humble, teachable spirits.

Ask God to show you where you have become entrenched in your own opinions, or perhaps swayed by the culture’s arrogance. Invite the Holy Spirit into your heart, asking him to develop humility in you. This characteristic is one of Jesus’ finest, and when you are humble, you display his nature to the world.

5. Accept, value and apply God’s Word. (vs. 24)

What if I told you that there was one sure way to find hope in this declining culture? You already have this opportunity, my friend.

In these times, it’s essential to get serious about studying God’s Word. The main charge God leveled against the tribe of Judah is that they despised and rejected his revealed Word. We have far greater access to the Bible today than God’s people did then.

To truly find the hope and peace you are seeking, I challenge you to dig into his Word every day.

• Accept God’s Word as-is, with a teachable rather than argumentative spirit.
• Value your time of daily study; protect it like an important appointment.
• Don’t only read the Word; apply it to your daily life by meditating on it and asking him how you want him to use it.

The more you study his Word, the stronger your faith will be.

Isaiah prophesied during a dark time of Israel’s history. Yet God preserved a remnant of his people just as he had promised. That’s one reason the book of Isaiah is my favorite; it reminds me that through all the turmoil, God is faithful to his remnant of committed followers. He will be faithful to you as well, if you choose to intentionally seek him rather than joining the culture of decline.

God blessed the whole world through the faithful remnant of tribe of Judah, from which Jesus was born. How might he bless your world through your faithful commitment to him in this declining culture?

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
I praise you as the Blessed Controller over my culture.
You created me to live in such times as these.
I am concerned and frustrated by the decline I see.
But nothing is a surprise to you, Lord.
No culture is outside of your jurisdiction.
Your promises are always true.
You are ever faithful to your remnant.
Sit at the center of my thoughts, Lord.
I want to know you well and notice what you are doing every day.
I refuse to be wise in my own eyes, but focused instead on the wisdom of your Word.
Help me be fully devoted to you, no matter what is happening around me.
I thank you in advance for your faithfulness to me as a member of your remnant.
Show me your promises that may be more visible in the darkness.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

Do you have a prayer request to share with me, or feedback on this devotion? Simply reply to me on my Contact page.

5 Ways to Live With Hope in a Declining Culture

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