“Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1)
Psalm 10 begins with an accusation and question for God – a frustration that in the psalmist’s times of need, it seemed like God wasn’t there. Of course, that wasn’t true – God is always there, but I must admit, sometimes I have felt just like that writer.
Maybe I should have told God how I felt like the psalmist did. The words of the psalms are often full of powerful questions for God – questions I think I would feel irreverent asking – but questions God didn’t feel were irreverent at all. Maybe, just maybe, the reason God feels far away is because we pray to Him with ritual instead of honesty, formality instead of intimacy. It shouldn’t surprise us that when we treat God like He is far off that He doesn’t draw near.
Psalm 10 reminds me that if I start my prayers with honesty, God will hear, and then I can end my prayers the way Psalm 10 ends – with reassured conviction.
“O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart; You will incline Your ear.” (Psalm 10:17)
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
This Week’s Reading: Exodus 33-40; Psalm 10; Proverbs 10 This year, #Biblebites are looking at lessons from the history of the Old Testament. Each week reads a section of history with a Psalm to meditate on and a dash of Proverbs to dwell upon. If you would like a copy of the reading schedule, you can view it here: https://eastlandchristians.org/news-events/2024-vision