Tuesday, January
31, 2017
Be still in
the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or
fret about their wicked schemes. Stop
being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to
harm. For the wicked will be
destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land. Soon the wicked will disappear. Though you look for them, they will be gone. The lowly will possess the land and will live
in peace and prosperity. The wicked plot
against the godly; they snarl at them in defiance. But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their
day of judgment coming. Psalm 37:7-13(NLT)
I know you’ve thought this: How
in the world can he get away with that? We
want to know: How can God NOT clobber someone with a sharp tongue like hers? It just seems so unfair and weird that somebody
who continually does bad stuff never seems to get what he’s got coming. And to boot, she seems to be succeeding far
above what good people have in their lives; I just don’t get it!
Whenever I find myslef
indulging in that kind of thinking I ask myself a more important question: How
come God doesn’t light up my kindling with all the wrong stuff I’ve done?
Well, we could stand here and
have a deeply theological debate about alll that for, well, perhaps a millennium
or two, and never come up with an answer that will satisfy more than a few
people – those who are more likely to agree with us anyway.
But the simplest answers I’ve
ever been able to sleep with are:
#1. God is patient
The Psalmist said God just
laughs at the wicked and all their plots, because He sees their end and there
will not be anything that slips past the judgment bar. If God can relax in the face of evildoers,
well…I should also.
#2. I’m not (and never will be) in charge…God is!
The Psalmist also wrote that
our job is as we have in verse 7:
Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait
patiently for him to act. Psalm 37:7(NLT)
God has always reserved for
Himself the right to vengeance or mercy; frankly, it’s none of our
business. Do you recall how after the
resurrection, when Jesus was talking to the disciples on the seashore at the
men’s breakfast, the Lord told Peter about some hard things the big fisherman
would have to endure. Peter looked over
his shoulder at John and then asked Jesus:
What about him?
Jesus replied: Keep
your eye on the ball, Peter; John is my business, not yours!
Frankly…I don’t need more
instruction than that. If I’ve got more
questions, I think they can wait til Heaven.
For You Today
A
good practice is to keep our eyes on what we are doing, and leave supervising evildoers
to God. He’s well-equipped to handle it;
we’re not!
NOTES
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