Where Are You, Lord?

But what about those theological and existential questions that never seem to have a complete resolution?

What about those questions? What are we to do with them?

Psalm 10, I think, presents us with such a predicament.

After being told in Psalm 9 of God's nearness to the afflicted, we are now challenged here with the feeling of God's distance, particularly in times of trouble.

As Derek Kidner said, there in Psalm 9, the center of gravity was the judgment of God that is to come.

But here, it is the present age where injustice and wickedness is rampant.

And the intention of this psalm is made actually very clear in the first two verses.

Observing the tragic injustices that are committed against the vulnerable, the unnamed author of the psalm,

Ask God why he seems so distant in this evil.

Where are you, Lord, in this?

The question, it doesn't suppose that God is actually absent or that he has lost interest in the issue at hand,

but it does reflect the psalmist confusion with God's delay.

Surely, there has been some time in your life before and after Christ where you have looked at the rampant wickedness of this world

and you've asked something similar to this psalmist.

Lord, where are you in this evil?

Why aren't you doing something?

Why do you let this continue?

Why do abusers and warmongers and cheats continue to get by with oppressing the weak and helpless?

Lord, are you there?

So, the psalmist asked God to act.

Let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised, he prays.

Which, interestingly enough, if you think back on the previous psalms that we've studied,

this has been a common theme, hasn't it?

In relation to God's judgment, there is always this focus on a future judgment.

But some of these psalms indicate that God does indeed sometimes work now to judge the wicked.

And he has a particular way that he often does that.

And that is by turning their wickedness against them.

And this facet, feature of God's work and God's judgment is prevalent in the scriptures.

Do you remember in the book of Esther, the antagonist is a man named Haman.

And Haman prepares a set of gallows in order that he might hang Mordecai,

which is Esther's uncle, if I remember correctly.

And God uses Esther to orchestrate events in such a way that it's actually Haman who ends up being hanged on those gallows.

Do you remember that story?

A more familiar one to you would be Daniel.

Do you remember Daniel's enemies?

They prepare a den of lions.

And they craft a scheme not to serve justice as rulers,

but specifically so that they might entrap Daniel in his faithfulness.

And as soon as he falls into their trap, he's thrown into this den of lions, but God closes their mouths.

And then he orchestrates the events in such a way that the ones who ultimately are destroyed by the lions

are the very ones who provided the den to begin with.

The way that the book of Daniel describes it is that when they were cast into the den,

what hit the ground was their bones.

A poetic way of saying they were absolutely destroyed as God opened the mouths of the lions.

We know that God works this way.

The psalmist knows that God works this way.

And as he steps back in the psalm and he observes the wickedness that's happening,

and he sees that God isn't doing anything, at least it doesn't seem like he is.

And so he cries out in verse 2, in this summary of his prayer,

let them be caught, Lord, do what you normally do.

Bring justice in a way that I know you're pleased to do against the wicked.

The difficulty presented in Psalm 10 is the seeming contradiction of God's righteousness on one hand

and his delay of justice on the other hand.

The psalmist, and we, if we're honest, often look at these types of situations,

and on one side we say we know that God is righteous,

we know that God judges the wicked,

we know that God is not pleased by this,

but we can't understand why he's not acting.

Why is he letting children starve?

Why is he letting the vulnerable be abducted and sold into the sex trade around the world?

Why do needless murders continue?

Why do wars continue to grow?

Where is the Lord?

We know you're righteous God.

Why aren't you doing anything?

And while the scriptures do,

they help us to find answers to this kind of question,

that's not actually the intention of this psalm, funny enough.

It presents the problem.

It offers no solution.

It's not the reason for it.

The purpose of Psalm 10, rather,

is to give us a model for approaching God in such moments of doubt and confusion.

The author is not trying to give you all the answers about that particular question.

The author, through the inspiration of God's Spirit,

is teaching us how to come to God when we're in a similar place.

As he was in this moment.

The song is straightforward, actually.

There's three straightforward elements to the prayer here

that teach us how we might appropriately ask God,

why?

Why?

So let's just walk through them quickly.

The first thing I want you to see is the psalmist concern.

Notice the psalmist concern.

We find it enumerated in verses 3 through 11.

I won't read them all again now.

We'll walk through them together.

But what we see is that the first thing that the psalm teaches us to do

is actually to bring our concerns.

We might even call them complaints.

Bring our complaints to the Lord.

Foolish is the one who says it's inappropriate to ever ask God,

why?

That's foolish.

It's certainly not biblical.

God invites us, actually, to cast our anxieties upon him,

for he cares for us, Peter says.

And there is certainly a sinful way that we might go about doing that.

But the thing itself, bringing our concerns, bringing our complaints,

bringing our cares to the Lord, the thing itself is good and right.

Notice that more than half of this psalm,

which was meant to be repeated as an act of worship among God's people,

half of it is committed to the psalmist expressing his confusion

and his concerns and his complaints.

How could we come to a psalm like this and ever say,

it's never appropriate to ask God why he's not doing something

or where is he in a particular situation?

This was meant to be repeated in worship.

And more than half of the psalm is a complaint, a concern.

As he observed the injustices performed by the wicked,

the psalmist voiced four particular complaints about the wicked to the Lord.

First, he expresses his confusion about their pride.

Look with me at verse 2.

In arrogance, the wicked hotly pursue the poor.

Verse 3.

For the wicked boast of the desires of his soul,

the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.

Verse 4.

In the pride of his face, the wicked does not seek him.

All his thoughts are there is no God.

It's the wicked's pride that drives his pursuit of the poor

and it's his pride that drives his blasphemy against the Lord.

And there's two dimensions to his pride.

First, there is this horizontal dimension.

In which he considers himself superior to the weak.

His injustices here, as they are recalled by the psalmist,

they're always aimed, if you notice, at the vulnerable.

Why does the wicked always aim, in this context,

his injustices toward the vulnerable?

Because he believes in his arrogance that he is superior to them.

That they are inferior people.

Therefore, he is justified in coming against them

and in abusing them.

You say, well, how does this work out in our lives around us?

Well, you don't have to look very far.

You pick up a newspaper and you'll probably see just about every day

a number of occasions where this is happening all around us.

This week, we'll celebrate the independence of our nation.

A wonderful celebration.

Andy mentioned the other day, it's his favorite, right?

Is that what you mentioned recently?

Favorite holiday of the year.

It's exciting.

Julie and the girls and I are planning to go to Washington, D.C.

for a few days in September.

And I always love going there.

It's one of my favorite places to visit

because there's so much about our nation, our independence,

and the boldness and courage of those who have gone before us

that is worth celebrating.

You know, we would do well this week

that in the midst of our celebrations,

we would recognize and stop and give attention

to our nation's history in regards to this very wickedness

that's described here.

Does this not describe the nature of the chattel slavery

of which many in our nation were guilty for so long?

The strong oppressing the weak,

believing that black people were less than human?

Wasn't that the argument?

That on one hand, we can write in our declaration of independence

that all people are created equal,

but we get the right to choose who is a person

and who is not a full person?

And that was the argument.

What is that if it's not what's being described in Psalm 10?

The powerful, the strong,

taking advantage of the vulnerable and the weak

in order that they might build themselves up.

Advocates of abortion make a similar argument.

They espouse a similar kind of reasoning

that an unborn child is something less

than a full human with an equal right to life.

The strong taking advantage of the weak,

aiming their injustices at the vulnerable.

There's a horizontal dimension to this pride

that we are better.

There is something superior in us than in them.

That's how the wicked one thinks.

Then there's this vertical dimension to the pride, isn't there?

So that the wicked, we're told,

renounces the Lord,

refuses to seek him,

and then mockingly declares,

there is no God.

There is no God to judge me.

That's what they say.

So there's this horizontal pride.

Then there's this vertical pride in the two are not unrelated.

Psalmist complains that the wicked

not only pursue the poor and renounce the Lord,

but they go so far as to boast in their evil deeds.

That's what he says in verse three.

The wicked boast of the desires of his soul.

He believes his desires are justified.

There is this Darwinian-like worldview

in these individuals that believe

only the strongest should and will survive.

They boast in predatorial behavior,

seeing a desire to win at all cost

as a virtue.

It is a prevalent,

although perhaps sometimes masked,

worldview of our day.

That all you need to do

is follow your heart,

choose your dream,

and don't stop at anything

to get there.

Let no one get in your way.

Let no relationship stand in the way

of your autonomy and your freedom

and your dream and your pursuit.

We only need to look at

even the candidates

for this year's presidential election

to see how this wickedness

is trumpeted as a virtue.

The wicked have an unmitigated pride,

and the psalmist can't understand

why God hasn't intervened.

Do you feel that?

Do you feel the raw emotion of this prayer

as he witnesses this?

And he says,

Lord, why aren't you doing something about this?

So there's their pride.

Then there's their prosperity.

Verse five.

His ways prosper at all times.

Your judgments are on high out of his sight.

As for all his foes,

he puffs at them.

He says in his heart,

I shall not be moved

throughout all generations.

I shall not meet adversity.

So that in addition to their pride,

the psalmist struggles to understand

their prosperity,

which increases their arrogance even more.

This is precisely what drove

another psalmist named Asaph

to nearly abandon the faith altogether.

Flip over to Psalm 73, would you?

It'll be a few years before we get to this one,

so we might as well look at it now.

Psalm 73.

This prayer of Asaph,

truly God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart,

but as for me,

my feet had almost stumbled.

My steps had nearly slipped.

Why, Asaph?

For I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

That sounds similar, doesn't it?

They have no pains until death.

Their bodies are fat and sleek.

I didn't know those two things worked together.

They have lots to eat.

They're wealthy.

They are not in trouble as others are.

They are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

Therefore, pride is their necklace.

Violence covers them as a garment.

Their eyes swell out through fatness.

Their hearts overflow with follies.

They scoff and speak with malice.

Loftily, they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens,

and their tongue struts through the earth.

Therefore, his people turn back to them

and find no fault in him.

Do you see what Asaph is saying there?

That these people,

if we can follow the same theme

as the political environment of our nation right now,

these same people,

they see this wickedness that's happening,

and they just assume,

we can't do anything about it.

We might as well support it

so that the people of God say,

we can find no fault

in these wicked people.

Verse 11,

and they say,

how can God know?

Is there knowledge in the Most High?

Behold, these are the wicked,

always at ease.

They increase in riches.

And what did this cause Asaph to believe?

Verse 13,

all in vain have I kept my heart clean.

All in vain it feels

that I've lived in holiness

and in righteousness.

Asaph knew what the psalmist of Psalm 10

was talking about.

We can all relate to this confusion on some level.

Why does God allow the wicked

not only to continue in their sin,

but prosper in it?

The way of the world is such that

the unrighteous increase in power,

the crooked gain tremendous wealth,

the corrupt are celebrated

when they should be incarcerated.

The struggle for a believer then

is that we expect God

to punish these people

when in fact they continue to prosper.

And we step back like the psalmist

so very often,

if you're paying attention,

and you just say,

Lord, where are you?

Why?

Then there's their plans

that frustrate the psalmist.

Verse 7,

his mouth is filled with cursing

and deceit and oppression.

Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

He sits in ambush

in the villages and hiding places.

He murders the innocent.

His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless.

He lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket.

He lurks that he may seize the poor.

He seizes the poor

when he draws him into his net.

It's the plans of the wicked.

Have you noticed how often

sins of the tongue

have been at the forefront

of the injustices described

in the first few psalms?

It feels like almost every psalm,

doesn't it?

There is some cry

against the words of the wicked,

the lies of the wicked,

the slanders of the wicked,

the cursing of the wicked.

It's not that the wicked

occasionally bend the truth to win.

The psalmist says their mouths are full of it.

They're full of cursing.

They're full of deceit.

They're full of oppression.

These sins of speech

are actually crucial to their schemes.

They know that if they do not engage

in this level of deceit and manipulation,

they will not achieve the goals

for which they desire.

And so it's crucial.

So that where you find a liar,

you are sure to find an oppressive scheme

shortly after.

He who has an ear,

let him hear.

Plans of the wicked

are marked by stealth.

Like a lion hurting her prey,

they wait in the shadows

until the weak are most vulnerable.

And when the time is right,

they take advantage

of the most helpless of people.

How many stories have we heard

in recent days

about abusers,

quote,

grooming

their prey?

Of thieves

baiting those,

sometimes in elaborate schemes,

in order to steal from them.

Of the powerful,

manipulating people

that they just plan to use

to advance their own desires,

and they're going to leave them

in the dust.

This is our world.

It's always been our world

since sin came in.

Then there's

the product of all of this

that frustrates the psalmist,

verse 10.

The helpless are crushed.

They sink down.

They fall by the might

of the wicked.

And then he says in his heart,

God is forgotten.

He's hidden his face.

He will never see it.

The psalmist laments

the products of the pride

and prosperity

and plans of the wicked.

All of it leads

to the helpless being crushed

and the wicked

increasing in their arrogance.

They say God has forgotten

and hidden his face

so that the wicked

will continue to succeed

in their schemes.

No one to hold them to account.

So now we come to this point

in the psalm

and we think,

okay, now we understand

that opening question

a little better.

Not only is he confused

about what seems like

a contradiction

in God's righteousness

and God's action,

but we get to this

particular verse

and we think,

you know,

maybe the psalmist

has heard this declaration

of the wicked

in verse 11

that God doesn't see

and that he's distant

and that he doesn't care

and that he's not going to judge

and now even the faithful

are starting to wonder,

maybe they're right.

Maybe he doesn't see.

Has God actually

hidden his face?

Where is he?

Why hasn't he intervened?

Now the point of all of this

is to say

that though it is never right

to charge God

with an injustice,

the psalmist is not doing that.

It's never right

to charge God

with an injustice,

but that doesn't mean

it's wrong

to bring your cares

and your concerns

and your complaints

to him in prayer.

Psalm 10 is a model for us

that when we too

look around

and see things like this,

that it is okay

to go to the Lord

and pour out your heart

to him

and your confusions

to him

and your doubts

and your frustrations

to him.

Lord, why?

Why is it this way?

We have the model.

So we see

the psalmist concern.

Secondly,

we see the psalmist prayer.

The psalmist prayer.

Look with me

at verse 12.

Arise, O Lord,

O God,

lift up your hand.

Forget not

the afflicted, Lord.

Why does the wicked

renounce God

and say in his heart

that you will not

call to account?

You do see.

You note mischief

and vexation

and you note it

so that you may

take it into your hands

for judgment.

So to you,

the helpless commits himself

and you have been

the helper

of the fatherless.

So, Lord,

break the arm

of the wicked

and evildoer.

Call his wickedness

to account

till there's no more left.

So he moves

from the passion,

the emotion

of the question itself

to a passionate,

emotive,

prayer to the Lord

to act.

We've seen his concern.

Now we recognize

what he does

and what he does not do.

Psalm 10,

at this point,

brings us to a proverbial

fork in the road.

One leads to the dismantling

of one's faith,

determining that

if there is a God,

there must be

some injustice in him.

The other path,

however,

is the model of faith

that trusts the Lord

even when his ways

are difficult

to comprehend.

And the psalmist here

chooses to walk in faith,

doesn't he?

Asaph was nearly

about to abandon

the faith.

Perhaps the psalmist

in Psalm 10

was as well,

but neither one of them

do that.

They trust the Lord.

They model faith.

The psalmist

doesn't accuse God.

He doesn't doubt

God's goodness.

Instead,

he casts his cares

on the Lord.

He pleads with him

to act according

to his righteous character.

Habakkuk

had a similar

predicament,

didn't he?

Faith was

his answer from God

when he prayed

a similar prayer.

Habakkuk 2, 4,

the righteous

shall live by faith.

So that while

the wicked

live in skepticism,

the righteous

continue in faith

even when they

don't have

all the answers.

Rather than

believe the words

of the wicked

in verse 11,

the psalmist

responds with

what he knows

to be true

of God,

doesn't he?

He doesn't know

the reason

for God's delay,

but he affirms

that God does

indeed see our works.

He keeps a record

of our deeds,

and in time,

he will judge

all of us.

That's his affirmation

here, isn't it?

God will be a helper

to the fatherless,

those who have

no one else

to care for them.

psalmist knows

that God's heart

beats for the oppressed,

and his prayer

warns the wicked

regarding their judgment.

He says,

you may think

you're getting by

with it,

but God sees you.

He's keeping a record

of everything you do,

and one day

you will stand

before him,

and you will

give an account

for your sin.

Proverbs 5, 21,

a man's ways

are before the eyes

of the Lord,

and he ponders

all of his paths.

Proverbs 15, 3,

my dad quoted this

to me so often,

growing up,

the eyes of the Lord

are in every place,

keeping watch

over the evil

and the good.

God,

he does see.

He sees you.

He sees your works.

He knows your heart.

He knows your thought,

and it may seem

like things are working

out for you

just fine right now,

but all of us

are going to stand

before him one day.

All of us.

So the psalmist

knows that judgment

will eventually come,

but his prayer

desires that God

will bring it now,

doesn't it?

Wait no longer,

God.

Break the power

of the wicked now.

Judge the wicked

until there's

no unrighteousness left.

We know this is

ultimately going to be

fulfilled in the

final judgment,

but that doesn't mean

that we cannot

or should not

pray for it now.

It doesn't mean

that we shouldn't

act against the wicked

now.

If God cares for the

afflicted,

and he does,

then so should his

people.

And that care

should be expressed

in our prayers first,

praying for God

to act,

and then that care

should be expressed

in real advocacy

for the vulnerable

and the weak.

The scripture makes

this clear.

God himself says

to Israel

through Isaiah,

wash yourselves,

make yourselves

clean,

remove the evil

of your deeds

from before your eyes,

and what will

that result in?

You will cease

to do evil,

learn to do good,

seek justice,

correct oppression,

bring justice

to the fatherless,

plead the widow's

cause.

Yes,

God is the judge,

but he expects

his people

to advocate

for the vulnerable.

That's our

responsibility,

church.

We must do this.

As James makes

very clear,

religion that is

pure and undefiled

before God the Father

is this,

to visit orphans

and widows

in their affliction

and to keep oneself

unstained from the world.

Part of our responsibility

as God's people,

as his church,

is to live in holiness

and then to help

the afflicted.

That's why we love

people like Andy

and Amy

who have committed

themselves to adoption.

That's why we love

what,

what,

foster care.

I was losing it.

I was losing,

starting to lose my mind.

We love it.

We love what Kristen

does for a living.

She helps children

who are parentless

or at least in situations

where their parents

are not good.

They're in affliction

and they're oppressed

and she helps.

That is,

that is very Christian.

It's very Christian.

It's why we advocate

for the right to life

for the unborn.

It's why we want

to support organizations

that are helping

crisis pregnancy issues.

It's why we want

to support organizations

that are helping

the homeless

and helping supply needs.

This is the heartbeat

of God.

It should be our heartbeat

as well.

the model given to us

after we voice

our concerns to God.

It's good and right

to pray that he act

according to his

righteous character.

And while we trust

his purposes,

we should seek

for his work

to be accomplished

in the here and now.

And how do you think

he's going to accomplish that?

He's going to accomplish

it through his people.

Through his people.

We see the psalmist

concerned.

We see the psalmist

prayer.

Finally, we see

the psalmist praise.

We see his praise.

Verse 16.

The Lord is king

forever and ever.

The nations perish

from his land.

O Lord, you hear

the desire of the afflicted.

You will strengthen

the heart.

You will incline

your ear

to do justice

to the fatherless

and the oppressed

so that man

who is of the earth

may strike terror

no more.

Psalm 10 ends

with a moment

of worship.

A declaration

of confidence

that God will act

as the psalmist

has prayed.

But what's interesting

about it

is that this

conclusion

does not follow

a resolution.

It does not follow

an explanation

to the question

that he asked.

In verse 1.

Do you remember

how he opened?

Why, Lord?

Why are you distant?

Where are you

in times of trouble?

And God never

gives an answer.

He doesn't offer

an explanation.

He doesn't usually.

God more often

deals in promises

than he does

in explanations.

The psalmist

clings to the promises

of God

and that's why

he prays the way

that he does

and he worships

the way that he does.

But this worship

and this confidence

it doesn't follow

an explanation

and I think

that's important

for us to see.

The faithful

are not without

their questions.

Neither is their faith

crippled by those questions.

Faith doesn't come

from having

all the answers.

Faith is trusting God

especially

when you don't have

all the answers.

That's what faith is.

And we find it

modeled here.

Despite the emotion

of the question

at hand

the faithful

can

genuinely worship.

You can

have real confidence

that God is present

and that he

is doing what is right

and what is good

according to his purposes.

Perhaps this is

challenging for you.

Perhaps the most

challenging thing

for you

is to genuinely

worship

to express

confidence in the Lord

when you actually

do have doubts

and confusion

about his ways.

The problem of evil

is a common

it's a common issue

for everybody

to grapple with.

There are people

that we pray for

regularly

that the reason

that they are

reluctant

to trust the Lord

is because

they don't actually

believe he's good.

They look at the problem

of evil

and they say

there is injustice

in God

and we'd be lying

to say

that there's never

a time

where we're like

confused

like the psalmist

is confused

and in those moments

it's difficult

isn't it?

It's difficult

to engage

authentically

in worship

on a Sunday morning

to have confidence

in your evangelism

when you know

that this issue

is not only

in your mind

but it's probably

in the minds

of others around you

and it's difficult

to be genuine.

What the psalm

teaches us here

is that you

actually can

be genuine

in both your worship

and your confidence

and the key

to both of these things

is in personal

communion with God.

That's the key.

You say

that sounds too simple

it doesn't sound

like that could work.

It's the key.

This is the model

of Psalm 10.

This is why

it's so important.

It is in the regular

study of the Bible

and prayer

that we don't

convince ourselves

that things

are okay

but that the Holy Spirit

strengthens our hearts

in His power

despite the fact

that we don't have

a lot of answers.

Isn't that what

the psalmist says?

He worships the Lord

and then he says

in verse 17

you hear the desire

of the afflicted

you will strengthen

their heart.

I can't strengthen

your heart

but He will strengthen

your heart

and how does He do it?

By the Spirit

through His Word

in the prayer closet

Derek Kidner says

however distant

may be the day

of justice

one promise

is not delayed

you will strengthen

their heart.

This is what

Asaph discovered

in Psalm 73

flip back to it

we'll just read

the whole thing

Psalm 73

look this time

at verse 16

after Asaph

makes his complaint

and he tells us

where he had come

notice what he does

when I thought

to understand this

it seemed to me

a wearisome task

I kept trying

to come up

with a solution

with answers

and I couldn't do it

and now I'm burdened

by it

so what does he do?

He doesn't abandon

his faith

verse 17

until I went

into the sanctuary

of God

then I discerned

their end

not their present

then I discerned

their end

truly you set

them in slippery

places

you make them

fall to ruin

hell they are

destroyed in a

moment

swept away

utterly by

terrors

like a dream

when one awakes

oh Lord

when you rouse

yourself

you despise

them as phantoms

when my soul

was embittered

when I was

pricked in heart

I was brutish

and ignorant

I was like a

beast towards you

nevertheless

I am continually

with you

you hold

my right

hand

in my

questions

and doubts

and confusions

you guide me

with your

counsel

and afterward

you will receive

me to glory

whom have I

in heaven

but you

Lord

there is

nothing on

earth

that I desire

besides you

my flesh

my heart

may fail

but God

is the strength

of my heart

and my portion

forever

for behold

those who are

far from you

shall perish

you put an

end to everyone

who is unfaithful

to you

but for me

it's good to be

near to God

I have made

the Lord

my refuge

that I may

tell of all

your words

isn't that

wonderful

what does

Asaph do

he goes to

the Lord

and what does

the Lord do

he strengthens

his heart

it's what

Habakkuk

discovered as

well

Habakkuk 3

17

though the

fig tree

should not

blossom

nor fruit

be on the

vines

the produce

of the

olive

fail

and the

fields

yield

no food

the flock

be cut

off from

the fold

and there

be no

herds

in the

stalls

by the

way

that's

exactly

what was

happening

to Habakkuk

and the

people of

Israel

at that

time

their

life

was

absolutely

destroyed

what does

he say

though all

of that

be

yet

I will

rejoice

in the

Lord

I will

take

joy

in the

God

of my

salvation

because

God

the

Lord

is

my

strength

your

strength

does not

come

from having

it all

together

and being

able to

answer

every

question

that you're

ever

asked

about

theology

and

existence

that's

not where

your

strength

comes

from

it

comes

from

your

communion

with

God

if

you're

struggling

with

this

question

bring

your

concern

to

the

Lord

but bring

it to

him

in

private

prayerful

communion

study the

word

pray

sincerely

to him

he will

do this

work

in you

it's his

promise

he will

do it

he will

strengthen

your heart

the best

place to take

your doubts

and confusion

is to the

throne room

of God

there he

will meet

you

and he

will

strengthen

your

heart

as no

explanation

will

ever

do

now

to

close

I want

us to

consider

the

implications

of the

gospel

on this

question

okay

just think

about how

does this

relate to

the gospel

regarding

the question

of why

God allows

evil to

continue

we may

never have

a fully

satisfying

answer

this side

of heaven

don't

expect

that

there's

ever

going

to

come

a day

where

finally

you

just

got

it

all

figured

out

his

ways

are

not

our

ways

we're

not

going

to

comprehend

it

like

that

but

there

are

some

affirmations

that

we

can

make

that

may

bring

us

some

peace

one

affirmation

is

that

God

is

indeed

righteous

this

is

what

Abraham

says

as

he

converses

with

God

about

the

destruction

of

Sodom

I

know

it's

right

because

you

are

right

you

are

righteous

another

affirmation

is that

he

is

always

working

for

his

glory

and

the

good

of

his

people

that's

Romans

8

isn't

it

all

things

are

working

together

for

the

good

not

all

things

are

good

all

things

are

working

together

for

the

good

of

his

people

we

may

be

conformed

to

the

image

of

Christ

that

we

may

trust

the

Lord

and

bring

him

glory

another

affirmation

would be

that

God

delays

his

justice

to

give

the

wicked

time

for

repentance

it's

clear

that's

Romans

2

do

you

not

know

that

God's

kindness

is

meant

to

lead

you

to

repentance

another

affirmation

would be

that

God's

delays

allow

the

wicked

to

store

up

wrath

for

their

coming

judgment

again

that's

Romans

2

God

desires

to lead

them

to

repentance

but

he

also

allows

them

to

keep

storing

up

wrath

so

that

day

of

judgment

will

be

very

very

clear

another

affirmation

would be

that

if

God

were

to

act

in

immediate

judgment

whenever

some

wickedness

took

place

it

would

result

in

the

immediate

damnation

of

all

people

not

just

the

most

wicked

among

us

all

of

these

things

are

true

all

of

these

things

can

bring

us

a

measure

of

peace

it

doesn't

mean

that

they

completely

satisfy

all

of

our

questions

about

it

but

they

are

affirmations

that

we

can

and

should

make

as

we

think

about

it

but

to

comprehend

God's

heart

in

all

of

this

we

have

to

look

to

the

cross

God

does

not

stand

distanced

from

our

suffering

he

does

not

even

stand

close

to

it

and

peer

and

observe

what

we

deal

with

God

in

his

great

love

instead

enters

our

suffering

he

becomes

a man

taking

on

flesh

Jesus

Christ

the

son

of

God

subjecting

himself

to

the

severest

of

oppressions

he

leaves

the

throne

room

of

heaven

to

be

born

on

a

stable

floor

every

part

of

his

life

was

threatened

from

its

very

beginning

from

its

very

conception

every

part

of

his

life

was

a

struggle

in

his

ministry

the

son

of

God

said

foxes

have

holes

birds

have

nests

the

son

of

man

has

nowhere

even

to

lay

his

head

and

then

of

course

is

ultimately

seen

at

the

cross

not

only

does

God

enter

our

brokenness

but

he

suffers

at

our

hand

those

whom

he

created

he

allows

to

nail

him

to

a

tree

why

so

that

he

might

take

the

wrath

of

God's

judgment

in

their

place

he

said

I

don't

understand

everything

there

is

to

know

about

why

God

does

things

the

way

that

he

does

and

I

can

often

pray

Psalm

10

as a

legitimate

prayer

of my

heart

because

I

don't

understand

all the

time

but

I

cannot

logically

conclude

that

something

in

God

is

unloving

if

I

turn

my

attention

to

the

cross

of

Christ

the

very

condescension

of

Christ

that

he

would

even

come

to

be

a

man

is

speaking

measureless

about

his

love

but

to

see

that

he

lays

down

his

life

even

to

the

point

of

death

even

the

death

of

the

cross

there

I

can

see

God's

heart

there

I

can

understand

his

love

and

though

we

can't

always

comprehend

how

he

works

because

of

the

cross

we

cannot

logically

and

reasonably

charge

him

as

being

unloving

but

there's

one

more

step

to

the

gospel

that

helps

us

with

this

after

Jesus

his

resurrection

from

the

dead

what

happens

he

ascends

doesn't

he

he