Angry Enough to Act

God has something to say to you and me through Psalm 7 today. So let's open up our Bibles and let his word sink into our hearts. Take a few minutes with this one. Here is what I am impressed by:

God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day. If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows. (v. 11-12)

This psalm, on the surface, makes God sound like a vengeful, angry God who is poised to strike and kill. I mean, "God expresses his wrath every day"? What ever happened to his love and grace and mercy? That's the God I want!

But on a closer examination, the writer (David) viewed these expressions of God's anger as proof that God deeply cares about people. This poem rebuffs the idea that God is apathetic to the injustices that people suffer. Sometimes, checking out the news, I am horrified by a report of what some depraved jerk did to someone else. Are you with me? All my sensibilities are offended and I want to cry out, "God, how could you let that happen??" It seems to us sometimes that God must not care and we question his character.

But far from sitting on his hands, kicked back with his feet on his desk, disinterested and unmoved by our plights, God gets seriously riled up when innocent people are abused. That's what he is saying to me in this text. He cares! And he doesn't miss a thing. Justice will be served out, sooner or later. As angry as I get about the victimization of the innocent (especially when the innocent is me), God's wrath is even fiercer. But unlike humans, he keeps his anger in control so that he never overreacts. His justice is always right on target.

God cares. I must remember that. And if he cares so deeply about injustices in his world, so should I. His conerns should be mine. I must care too. If anyone is guilty of turning a blind eye, it would be me rather than him. And rather than sit back apathetically, I need to do whatever is in my power to alleviate the plight of the victims and give them a voice. There are practical ways to do that, especially given the way that technology has shrunk our world and given the common person such vast opportuntities to get involved.

Lord, help me to discern how and where to fight for the abused and oppressed. Like you, may I be angry enough to act. But let me always act out of your wisdom and guidance rather than my own impulses. Amen.

Please share your thoughts on what God is saying to you here. And be blessed! Comment below (choose Anonymous from the list beside "Comment as.")