7 Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
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What struck me in these words this morning is the encouragement to trust in the Lord’s justice. We are to wait patiently for the Lord, and not give in to the temptation to become wrathful and fretful. We are to trust that the Lord is actually laughing at the wicked in their pride, for “he knows their day is coming.”
This theme has come up before in the psalms, and we’ll see it again. But it is well worth repeating and meditating on again. Our world is full of injustice, and all too often it seems as though the unjust get away with their injustice. It can be quite discouraging. Whether we’re talking about corrupt governments and government workers, business leaders, economic systems, despots and terrorists, or just rude unjust people, it seems that they are all around us. And we can feel quite powerless to do much about it.
But just as we trust that the resurrection will bring complete healing for our bodies, and restoration to all creation, we are to trust that it will be an end to all injustice and the perfect Judge brings His reign in fullness.
Until then we wait. But I wouldn’t take that “waiting” to mean passivity or inactivity. On the contrary, the people of God are agents of the resurrection now. We are citizens of the new creation, ambassadors of the Kingdom. And so that means that we strive to bring the promised future justice into our world now. As much as it touches our lives, we strive to “act justly” (Micah 6:8), and oppose injustice, all the while trusting that the ultimate victory will not be realized until Christ returns.
What does this mean? Where do we start? There’s a quote from Mother Teresa when asked what can be done about world peace. She said, “What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.” To adapt her saying: What can I do to promote world justice? Be just with my family, my friends, my co-workers, my neighbors. Act justly where the Lord has placed me.
So my prayer today is that I may grow in trusting in the Lord’s justice, but also that I may faithfully serve as His follower in “acting justly” in all my relationships today and always.
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