Psalm 81
“God said, “I removed the load from your shoulders. I set your hands free from carrying heavy baskets. You called out when you were in trouble, and I saved you. I answered you out of a thundercloud. I put you to the test at the waters of Meribah. Selah”Psalm 81:6-7 NIRV
You called out when you were in trouble, and I saved you. What a beautiful yet hard sentence to read. A lot of us can say, “Uh, excuse me? You haven’t exactly done that yet, God. Where you at?” But when I read that verse, I see a God who set the captives (the people of Israel) free and brought justice to an unjust people. In faith, I have to believe that a God who is willing to do that for a people group and the world at large is also near and willing to do that for me personally.
Psalm 82
Oh man is this Psalm not applicable today more than ever, hahaha! The government has been a source of confusion and sadness for us lately so it’s easy to denounce the current world order and want to tear it all down (at least, for me it is). We see in this Psalm that God not only instituted but also intends the worlds governments to partner with God to bring balance and life in the world. So the challenge this Psalm brings to me is, rather than giving up on the government, how do I stay engaged and seek justice in spite of our systems being overwhelming and broken?