Devotional readings focused on Psalm 10, 11, and 12 for the fourh week of February.
Meditation
As I am writing this week’s meditation on Psalms 10 through 12, the news coverage on TV and on X.com is centered around the tragic deaths of the Bibas family, whose bodies were paraded back to their homeland by children singing “death to Israelis.” Another story circulating—but almost exclusively in Christian media—is the beheading of 70 Christians (including women, children, and elderly) by terrorists who had held them captive in a church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Such horrific suffering abounds in the world today.
As a young woman, I would read the imprecatory psalms and feel like they were describing a sentiment left over from a less civilized era. Surely the world had outgrown such barbarism! But the wisdom that comes with age and experience has informed my viewpoint: We need to be praying these psalms over our families and our world because evil is real.
Do you notice the burning question David asks in Psalm 10:1?
Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? (NIV)
This verse goes straight to the age-old question of how a good God can allow evil. I am hardly capable of addressing that definitively, even if you were gracious enough to let me try to do that in this short meditation. But one way of looking at that question does stand out to me in light of this week’s readings: God’s grace.
If we truly want evil to be judged and dispensed with, what are we really asking for? Do we want judgement for ourselves given our own failings? Do we want judgement for those we love? Possilby some of us empty nesters have children who are straying from the Lord. Do we want God to "rain snares, fire and brimstone and burning wind" upon our children (Psalm 11:6)? Or could it be that we just have a short list of people we have hand picked for judgement while we give those we love a pass? As I ponder this question, I can see where the patience of God is a blessing. While God waits, there is time for repentance for all who share this world with us, but especially for those we know and love.
But God's patience offers yet another benefit. While God waits, we can act. How can we ask God for justice if we are not willing to be the answer to another's plea for help?
This week, we will read about Moses. When his people cried out for help from God, Moses was the answer God sent. Is God sending you, too?
The good you can do with your life experiences and wisdom is more than you can imagine. You can be the touch of God's grace in your community, a visible representation of God's love in a sick and suffering world. Let's not be afraid to ask God, "O Lord, do You see?" But at the same time, let's pray, "O Lord, open my eyes to the needs all around me."
Readings and Reflection Questions
Reflection Questions: Psalm 10:17 says that God will strengthen the hearts of the humble. How has God strengthened you through suffering? How do you take refuge in God when you experience oppression? Psalm 13 mentions the words of the Lord; how has He kept His promises to you?
Tuesday's reading: Exodus 3:1-4:17
Reflection Questions: This rather long passage describes the call of Moses to act on God's behalf. What strikes you about Moses's response? Is God asking you to do something that seems to difficult for you? How does God's response to Moses in Exodus 4:11-12 suggest how God might respond to your fears?
Wednesday's reading: Ecclesiastes 4
Reflection Questions: Ecclesiastes was written by David's son Solomon as an argument for the futility of life apart from a relationship with God. This fourth chapter discusses how the human desire for achievement when selfishly focused leads to injustice and meaninglessness. Take a moment to evaluate if the things you are working on are selfishly focused and lead to injustice or meaninglessness. How could you focus your energies on more significant and life-changing results? How could you focus on bringing more glory to God?
Thursday's reading: Matthew 10
Reflection Questions: What were Jesus's instructions to His disciples when He sent them out? What were they to expect on their journey? In verse 28, Jesus suggests that death is not the worst thing that can happen to us. What is worse than death? How might verse 39 change your midlife focus?
Friday's reading: Romans 8
Reflection Questions: What does it mean to live in the spirit rather than the flesh? Verses 18-23 discusses the condition of all of creation because of the burden of sin and evil. What is creation experiencing now, and what will it experience when it is finally free from sin? What does this chapter tell you about the difference Jesus makes in our lives if we "love God and are called according to His purpose" (vs. 28)?
Weekend reading: Revelation 6
Reflection Questions: Read through this passage and then return to verse 10. What is the question the martyrs ask God? What is God's response in verse 11? Read Revelation 7:9-12. Do you think God delayed judgement to allow more people to turn to Him? How does this change your viewpoint on God's reluctance to bring judgement on the world? What could you do personally to make a difference while God continues to give people time to repent?
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