SOON THE WICKED WILL DISAPPEAR

WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL

MARCH 27, 2021

TOPIC: SOON THE WICKED WILL DISAPPEAR

BY T. O. BANSO

“For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more” (Psalm 37:10 New King James Version). 

He was the Chief Executive of the company for some years. I learnt that since he left after the appointment of a new Chief Executive, he had not visited the place. But that day, there was a compelling reason for him to be there.

As soon as he stopped at the gate for the security men to confirm the identity of the visitor driving in, it was obvious that he wouldn’t have a quiet visit. The moment one of the security men saw him, he screamed, making those nearby wonder what happened. He greeted the former boss cheerfully. Though confused by the presence of the unexpected visitor, he tried to control his excitement and quickly opened the gate.

Thankfully, before people would gather to find out why he screamed, the driver had driven into the premises. The reception he got was unimaginable for him. As soon as he alighted from his car, all the staff who saw him started gathering around him; some went to tell the rest of his presence. They all gathered around him and gave him an exciting reception as if they had rehearsed it

The man was embarrassed as many workers left their offices to welcome him back to the organization he had led for some years. He was a good man. He impacted their lives significantly and the reception they gave him was the minimum they could do to appreciate him.

As protocol demands, he went to see his successor and paid him due respect before transacting the business that brought him there. The Chief Executive called the right person to attend to him to come over to his office for the transaction. The former Chief Executive was thereafter seen off by his successor who wondered at the love the staff showed this man as he waited for his driver to bring the car for him to leave the premises.

The staff waved to him emotionally as he departed. Some of them nearly cried. He too had to fight back tears. Everyone, including himself and his successor, must have learnt some lessons from the incident. It is good to be good.

This other story didn’t make sense to me. He/she was the head of a government institution.  I can’t remember now if the person was a woman or a man. But shortly before he/she proceeded on retirement, this person caused a sizeable number of his/her staff pain.

As if it was a parting gift to them, he/she used his/her position to get all of them transferred far away from their families. To punish them, their boss caused their transfer to sister organizations that were four or three states from where they were. These sister organizations never requested additional staff.

From what I heard, the transfer exercise was not because the staff were inefficient, lazy, or engaged in any misconduct. They had no disciplinary issues and there were no problems among them to warrant their transfer and the attendant discomfort.

The affected staff went to report at their new stations but everybody returned to his/her former positions not long after. I think the mastermind of their transfer had retired. Those in charge of the transfer obviously knew the exercise was out of malice. Somebody just wanted to show his/her power. He/she did but his/her power soon expired! I doubt if the staff would celebrate their former boss as they should if he/she comes to the organization on a visit.

The two stories give us an idea of the difference between a good person and a wicked person. Wicked people always operate under the illusion that their power is forever otherwise they would have a rethink and change their ways. Do good; don’t be wicked. Don’t use your offices for wickedness. The evil that men do, lives after them

As we read your Bible, we see wicked kings and the evils they committed. These include kings in both the Southern and Northern kingdoms of Israel and other kings, including Herod the Great who ordered the killing of infants in his desire to kill Jesus when he heard about His birth (Matthew 2:16-18).

Outside the Bible, the world has had wicked leaders in power such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, Ivan the Terrible, Vlad the Impaler, Kim II Sung, Nero, King John, Henrich Himmler, Idi Amin, and Saddam Hussein. Proverbs  29:2 says when the godly are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked are in power, they groan. This summarizes the lives of wicked leaders.

If you have never heard some of the names before, it is because their lives expired long ago and their power has ceased! They are dead and no more relevant. But while they were alive, perpetrating their wickedness, they behaved as if they would live forever. Some of them didn’t die well. Are there still wicked people today? Yes. Have they learnt any lesson from the lives of the wicked people of the past? Maybe not.

Job 24:22-24 says, “But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life. He gives them security, and they rely on it; yet His eyes are on their ways. They are exalted for a little while, then they are gone. They are brought low; they are taken out of the way like all others; they dry out like the heads of grain” (New King James Version).

No wicked person should be deceived by the power he/she has now or the success he/she is achieving in his/her wickedness. It is because God is not ready yet to stop him. God, in most cases, gives the wicked a long rope. He gives them time to repent. He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

The wicked are only wielding power for just a season. Whether in a family, an organization, a society, or a nation, the season of the wicked will soon be over.  Psalm 37:10 says, “For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more” (New King James Version).  The Good News Translation says, “Soon the wicked will disappear; you may look for them, but you won’t find them.”

Verses 35-36 say, “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; indeed I sought him, but he could not be found” (New King James Version). Maybe you’re a victim of some wickedness; the wicked shall soon be no more. You will look for them but you won’t find them.

You must never think that because the wicked pretends to have the power to do and undo, they will continue that for long. Pharaoh did that in Egypt, refusing to allow the children of Israel to go but when God was ready to bring his stubbornness to an end, He did it in one night (Exodus 12:29-.42). The season of the wicked will soon end. David cried, “Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just; for the righteous God tests the hearts and minds” (Psalm 7:9 New King James Version). This could be your cry too.

Hear what Psalm 73:18-19 says about the fate of the wicked: “Surely You set them in slippery places; you cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors” (New King James Version).

Nabal, the husband of Abigail, was a wicked man for the Bible says he was harsh and evil in his doings (1 Samuel 25:3). For provoking David, he would have killed him and destroyed his entire family because he repaid good with evil, but David didn’t have to. The LORD struck him and he died ten days after drinking himself to stupor. David in response said, “Praise the LORD, who has paid back Nabal and kept me from doing it myself” (1 Samuel 25:39 New Living Translation).

Many times, we are in a hurry for God to deal with the wicked. Sometimes some people even think maybe God doesn’t care. But He does. He will surely deal with the wicked but in His own time. Look a Haman for instance. He was a wicked man who plotted genocide against the Jews. But he dug a pit and fell into it (Proverbs 26:27; Ecclesiastes 10:8). His plot backfired and he was hanged on the gallows he had prepared to hang Mordecai (Esther 7:9-10).

Jezebel was a wicked Queen. She was a blood-thirsty woman, so dangerous that the prophet of God, Elijah, ran fled because she threatened to kill him (1 Kings 19:2). 1 Kings 21:25 says there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD because Jezebel his wife stirred him up. She had a bad reputation for killing Naboth for her husband to possess his vineyard. But her wickedness didn’t continue forever.

2 Kings 9:35 says, “So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands” (New King James Version). That was what remained of Jezebel, the strong woman! Shortly before then, two or three eunuchs had thrown her down through the window on the instruction of Jehu, whom the LORD had anointed king.

When Jehu was told about what had happened to the body of Jezebel, he said, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel;   and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, ‘Here lies Jezebel’” (2 Kings 9:36-37 New King James Version). Jezebel reaped what she sowed. God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap (Galatians 6:7).

Those who are victims of wickedness should have faith in God that He will fight for them. He will compensate them because He is a God of justice. The wicked shall not go unpunished. Nahum 1:3 says, “The LORD is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished” (New Living Translation). He says there is no peace for the wicked (Isaiah 48:22; 57:21).

Jesus called Satan the wicked one (Matthew 13:19). Paul and John also called him the wicked one (Ephesians 6:16; 1 John 2:13-14; 5:18-19). Those who perpetrate wickedness are under his authority and influence. The only way out for the wicked is repentance. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7 New King James Version).

The highest level of wickedness is to live as a sinner, a life without Jesus. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The soul that sins shall die (Romans 18:4). Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3 ). “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,’ Says the LORD of hosts”(Malachi 4:1  New King James Version). The final destination of the wicked is hellfire.  Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour?

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

PRAYER POINTS:  Heavenly Father, forgive me of every wickedness I may have done in the past. Holy Spirit, help me to live a life that resembles the life of Christ. Let the spirit of repentance enter everyone doing wickedly. Let everyone who is living without Jesus come to Jesus today and accept Him as their Lord and Saviour.

(For about 600 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit: www.cedarministry.org).

T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org