THANKFUL

Chatting with Jesus

Monday, July 17, 2023

Lord, the psalmist sounded fed up. Surely the corruption of the psalmist’s society troubled his soul. Did apathy toward the things of God allow wickedness to creep into every level of society? Possibly. However, by focusing on evil, worry began to stalk him, playing the “what if” mind game. He fretted over the wicked getting away with their lies and dishonesty and would likely never be brought to account for their wrongdoing. Frustrated, he listed his grievances. And in case you didn’t know, Lord, he reminded you how the wicked mocked you and had no regard for you nor the things you declare holy. I read his complaints:

“Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all. In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.”—Psalm 36:1–2 (NLT)

The rest of the psalm lists more complaints. Lies. Dishonesty. Deceitful hearts. Ranting and raving against everything good and holy. The elites degrade anyone who believes you, Lord. Everyone is on the take. Bribes. Lawlessness. Worst of all, they have no fear of you or of your judgment.

Lord, are you sure the psalmist wrote Psalm 36 over 2500 years ago? This psalm is like reading today’s headlines. We, too, are fed up. Aren’t you gonna do something about this wickedness, God? Can’t you send locusts or something to destroy them?

Your answer to the psalmist is as relevant today as then. Stop fretting about evil. Focus on me and my goodness and grace.

We can trust you to deal with the wicked as you did in the psalmist’s day. You brought down the wicked and they never recovered. You broke the devil’s power behind the wicked.

So today I will focus on your goodness and rely on your righteous judgment to take care of the wicked.

In your righteousness, Jesus. Amen.