God is Even Closer

Scripture:
Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
    Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
    let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
    and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
    all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

Psalms 10:1-4

 

Observation: The psalmist is not fretting about God's distance from him - he is not saying that God is far away from his life or his situation. Instead, he is wondering about God's justice. Specifically, he is noting that wicked and prideful men do all kinds of evil without punishment from God.

 

Throughout this psalm, the wicked men ... a greedy, assault the weak, take advantage of the poor, cheat everyone, and all the while they defy God himself, going so far as to openly declare that God does not exist. In fact, the proof of their disbelief in the existence of God is their own actions - they do evil with no punishment, therefore there must not be a just god.

 

Application: I feel like this psalm must have been written recently! How many non-believers declare there is no God, and their proof is the existence of unpunished evil. As a result, they then commit evil themselves - sexual immorality, cheating, lying, hatred of others, and greedy pursuit of wealth. In some cases, they even go so far as to declare these things 'good' since - without God - the law is ignored and thus their judgment of good and evil can be assessed using secular values.

 

The last line of verse 4 is so telling: "All his thoughts are, 'there is no God.'" This itself is a paradox. If there was no God, then why think about God at all?! Even in these situations, God is SO close to the situation that he is every thought in the minds of evil doers.

 

So for the psalmist ... the original question wondering why God is so far away and hiding is answered ... God is even CLOSER than can be seen. He isn't external to the situation handing down justice, but he is internal - in the heads of others - trying to correct them.

 

As believers, we can trust in the fact that God IS in the situations involving non-believers who reject his teaching, and that he talks to them. It is our job to only serve within that relationship.

 

Prayer: Lord, the issue of course is that those who aren't your sheep don't know your voice. They know no voice, ignore your voice, reject your voice, and even argue with your voice. May I re-enforce your voice. May I be a sheep that hears and knows your voice, follows your direction, and shows other sheep what life may be like in your arms. When I see others doing evil, and they reject your existence, may I be one standing there pointing out to them that even the act of actively rejecting you is an act of acknowledging your ... and that you are not far away allowing their actions, but in fact you are in their heads loving them. Amen.