S232P6 – Just Psalms: confident result
Psa. 94:12-15
Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law, to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
Deliverance does not always look the same. I can recall many occasions during my Christian walk when I asked for God to intervene on my behalf in a very specific way. Sometimes I had to wait what seemed like forever before God answered my prayer, and other times He seemed to come through pretty quickly. Either way, the time I spent waiting for his answer would cause me to question whether deliverance would come at all. I had to remind myself that his word tells me He will not leave me or forsake me, and that reminder was key. The thing is, it would be unjust for God not to keep his word. His reputation and our testimony rely on the completion of his promises.
David’s prayer in this chapter begins with him pointing out to God how the evildoers continue their ways and mock God for allowing them to do so. They do not see evidence of God delivering his people, so they say that He does not exist. Not only that, but these evildoers are afflicting the Lord’s own inheritance, his people. Although David questions how long God will allow this affliction to last, the only thing he questions is timing. He never doubts that God eventually will step in and set this injustice right. He is confident that God will not abandon his people. He knows that justice follows the righteous, and God will not go back on this promise. Even if his people must deal with injustice for a time, it will be only for a time.
When we ask God to move on our behalf, we declare that we are confident that He will answer our request in a just manner. This means that we have confidence that He will guard his reputation among the nations and keep his word to remain by his people and defend them. We cannot forget that, even in God’s omnipotence, He does not have the option to break or bend the rules that He has set. His promises will be fulfilled because any other result would be unjust and unrighteous. He is not a man that He should lie, and He cannot defy himself. Father, give us confidence that You do only what is just, and let the hope of that security fuel our prayers.