Psalm 11 – Sometimes God tells us to hang in there

Is God just watching?

In the middle, David writes some stuff that might sound a bit odd. Maybe.

Ps 11:3 When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do ?”

Ps 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD is on his heavenly throne.
He observes the sons of men;
his eyes examine them.

Again, we see two things happening. Sort of.

• Foundations being destroyed. The very core of our civilization / life as we know it is being destroyed.
• God is on His throne observing and examining us.

Now here’s the odd/sort of issue. Is God just watching while evil people do their thing? Or is God waiting for the proper time to step in? Or maybe God’s taking names and writing them down for future penalties? In essence, the core questions are – does care and will He do something? Or is God just going to watch while we destroy everything He created and do nothing about it, ever?

David closes by saying God will act

Here’s the final verse.

Ps 11:7 For the LORD is righteous,
he loves justice;
upright men will see his face.

Unless we believe David is just flat out wrong and God’s not planning on doing anything, there’s a question that needs to be asked. When? When is God finally going to act?

The answer to that says a lot about our faith. And, it says a lot about how we deal with whatever situation brought us to feel like David did when he wrote this psalm.

Possibilities – Sometimes God tells us to hang in there

So here’s the thing about that idea of what we believe influencing our thoughts on what this psalm says.

We could say God doesn’t exist, or doesn’t care, or things along that line. In which case we say David’s all wrong.

However, for Christians, there are three ways David could be right about God being righteous and that He loves justice.

First – God’s saying no, not this time, to intervening in David’s situation,

Second – God’s acting already, but David hasn’t seen it yet. Things are in motion or things are going on out of sight of David.

Third – God’s saying, not yet.

For me personally, there have been many times when I felt like God was saying no. However, in reality, it’s turned out that the actual answer was, not yet.

That’s why it’s so important to truly know and understand God’s word. To know there are three possibilities. That what looks like no could very likely mean not yet. And there’s even the possibility, even in this incredibly connected world of 24-hour news, social media, Etc., we don’t know everything.

Finally, there are two more possibilities.

One – we’re asking for something we “shouldn’t”. We remember the part where Jesus says we can ask for anything in His name.

The Fig Tree Withers – Matthew

21:18-22 pp — Mk 11:12-14, 20-24

Mt 21:18 Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
Mt 21:20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
Mt 21:21 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

The issue comes with the second possibility. One that actually needs to be combined with the first one. So, technically, I guess it’s 1a and 1b, rather than 1 and 2. Here it is.

Concluding Remarks – 1 John

1Jn 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

1Jn 5:16 If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

1Jn 5:18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. 19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

1Jn 5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

Here are the key verses:

14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Yeah – according to God’s will.

Here’s a passage that kind of sums it all up.

Ask, Seek, Knock – Matthew

7:7-11 pp — Lk 11:9-13

Mt 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Mt 7:9 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Conclusion – Sometimes God tells us to hang in there

So David can confidently write that final verse.

Ps 11:7 For the LORD is righteous,
he loves justice;
upright men will see his face.

What David didn’t know, and neither do we, is when. But it will happen. And if that’s part of the foundation of our faith, we can do more than just deal with situations where it seems the weak, including us, are getting thrashed by the rich and powerful.

Yes – more than just deal with it. Why? Because we know that God is with us, giving us the strength of His Holy Spirit. And, we also know that God has already won this battle, judgment is pronounced, and we will triumph with Jesus if we truly believe in Him with a strength that influences our life.

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