1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
7 His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees.”
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What struck me today is the first line of the Psalm, the frustration it expresses. The psalmist is accusing God of standing idly by while enemies do horrible things. He asks God why He does nothing during “times of trouble.” Then he goes on to enumerate the wickedness of the enemy, as though he’s trying to convince God that He really needs to do something about this.
I have prayed this kind of prayer. I have felt that frustration. The situation we are in right now could lead to praying this prayer. How long will this pandemic rage? How long must our lives be so disrupted? But it’s not just in times like this. We may feel this way when we have been praying for someone who is very ill and they don’t recover. Praying for justice in a world of much evil, and no progress seems to be made. Praying for someone’s heart to turn, and they keep going down the path to ruin. In times like this, the answer seems so obvious – if only God would show up and do what we want Him to do!
I know the correct theological answers in times like this. God has His own timing. God is at work, in ways we cannot see. God is doing things that we have no comprehension of. In the resurrection, there will be complete healing for all who belong to the Lord. And so forth. These things are true and we do derive great comfort from them.
But even still, it is hard when the answers seem so long in coming.
One of the things that gives me comfort in those times is Psalms like this. God put that verse in the Bible. He knows His actions and perceived inactions lead us to frustration. The fact that the Holy Spirit includes this is comforting. God knows.
So my prayer today is for those who are experiencing the frustration of seemingly unanswered prayers. I pray for their faith and perseverance, and I join my prayers with theirs and pray with them “Come Lord Jesus. Quickly come.”
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