For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men. Lamentations 3:33
"You have seen, O Lord, the wrong done to me. Uphold my cause!" Lamentations 3:59
Persecution of Christians, AIDS, orphans, abortion, sexual trafficking, cancer, genocide, terrorist attacks, divorce...the horrors and atrocities of this world seem to be without end. Where is the hope? Where is the justice? Where is the solution? Who do we blame? Who do we appeal to for help? Will good ever come?
These are questions all of us ask regularly, especially when faced with the sadness and evil in this life. How we answer these questions makes a world of difference in what actions we will take and what mindset we will embrace.
David of Bible times, after defeating Goliath, now faced an even greater foe...King Saul. Jealous of David, Saul pursued him for years, trying to kill him. When a priest sheltered David, Saul found out and had the priest, along with 84 other Jewish priests, slaughtered (1 Samuel 22:6-23). David discovered this and felt incredible horror. He must have asked himself these very questions.
David's response is a model for all of us when faced with horror and tragedy.
1) He placed blame where it should have been: on Saul and on evil. We need to remember this as well. "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5 God is not the author of evil and destruction...Satan is. But praise God, when Satan "intended to harm me...God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full," John 10:10
2) He reminded himself that God will repay evil. David wrote Psalm 52 about this very incident...the killing of the priests. In Psalm 52:5 he says: "Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living." Satan will not get away with destroying human life forever. There will be justice because "the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" Isaiah 30:18
3) He placed his hope solely in God. "I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope," Psalm 52:9. God is still on His throne no matter what Satan does. Our only hope is in God. Not in government, not in ourselves, not in others, not in medicine or the military or money...only in God.
4) He reminded himself that God is good! "for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints," Psalm 52:9. No matter how bad things look, God is good. He is good all the time and He longs to be good to us. His love for us is immeasurable. We need to rest in that truth. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations, Psalm 100:5.
"In the face of unimaginable horror, we must cast our imaginations on Christ, our only hope. His Word will be our anchor when our faith is tossed like the waves," Beth Moore (Bible study author and leader).
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