A psalm to bring courage when we wonder when the evil will cease
By Dean Collins
Bad things happen every day. This isn’t a new reality. Since the fall of man in the Garden there as been an ongoing tension between good and evil. Every day in every region of the globe, evil is present; and every day people give in to its lies and its grip.
In every generation there are people who rise to power in small and large ways who do not know, pursue, or care about righteousness. They are blinded by their desires and their power, and sadly their leadership brings pain and suffering to others.
“How long?”
Psalm 94 opens asking God to bring correction to this problem of evil. The psalm pleads for God to bring vengeance upon those who pursue evil and who bring suffering to others. The familiar refrain “How long” is used as the psalm questions the Almighty. How long will you allow this to continue? How long will evil people wreak havoc?
The psalm shifts as it pleads with the evildoers. “Fools, when will you be wise?” The psalmist states clearly for the listener that God knows and God sees and one day God will intervene and correct and bring judgment to those bent on destruction.
But good news emerges in this psalm as we learn that God blesses those who allow themselves to be corrected by God’s law. His truth permeates and transforms the person who is willing to submit to God. All is not lost, according to the psalm. Judgment will come to those who persist in evil, but rest awaits those who bow to the Almighty.
“My foot slips”
And then comes the psalmist’s own confession. The psalmist admits to something we can surely relate to in our moments of confession. Some days we all can acknowledge what the psalmist admitted: “ I thought my foot slipped. “ I was tempted to quit, to give up or give in to my selfishness and my sense of control. I almost decided to do my own thing my own way. But your steadfast love kept me on the path.
We know that feeling. We’ve all been there. And with the psalmist we ask the Lord for help. What is going on around us is too much and we cannot solve it and we don’t want to give in to it, so we cry out for divine intervention. And rest comes.
Once again we realize and claim that God is our refuge. He is our stronghold and defense against all that seeks to invade our space and our hearts. He is the one who sustains and brings victory. He will rise up to calm the storm and speak peace to us and our situation. He is faithful and will fulfill every promise. And in his time all will one day be restored and resolved and even transformed.
Our job is simply to stay focused on him and trust that he is greater than anything around us now and forever. Let’s lean in and on the Rock of Ages and our Redeemer today.
Your time with God’s Word
Psalm 94:1-23 ESV
Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash
This post is as appropriate today as when it first appeared a year ago, August 18, 2021
To receive daily posts delivered directly to your inbox, complete the form at the bottom of our home page.
To download a printable version of the original post, click here.