HIs Timing—not ours

Jeff Strese

Central Truth

God's justice will reign over all nations and their people. It is God's character to deal with all evil. This will be done in His ordained time, not ours.

O God, do not be silent!
Do not ignore us! Do not be inactive, O God!
(Psalm 83:1)

O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 O God, do not keep silence;
    do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2 For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
    those who hate you have raised their heads.
3 They lay crafty plans against your people;
    they consult together against your treasured ones.
4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
5 For they conspire with one accord;
    against you they make a covenant—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
    Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
    Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Asshur also has joined them;
    they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah

9 Do to them as you did to Midian,
    as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10 who were destroyed at En-dor,
    who became dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
    of the pastures of God.”

13 O my God, make them like whirling dust,^{1

83:13
Or like a tumbleweed}
    like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest,
    as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so may you pursue them with your tempest
    and terrify them with your hurricane!
16 Fill their faces with shame,
    that they may seek your name, O LORD.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
    let them perish in disgrace,
18 that they may know that you alone,
    whose name is the LORD,
    are the Most High over all the earth.

Footnotes

[1] 83:13 Or like a tumbleweed

When I think about the times in my life that others have hurt me, my instinctive response has usually been to throw a Hot Wheels car at them (when I was 9, my son's age) or to make a biting remark (more effective at my current age of 46). It has been a struggle my entire life to have self-control when I have been hurt or angry. I am on a journey to surround myself with godly people so I can respond in a more Christlike way when I am hurt or offended.

As I have matured as a Christian, my outward responses have changed over time. I can respond in a socially appropriate way in most circumstances . . . usually. But my flesh still wants to see the offenders suffer consequences for their actions, and this is all too often driven by my own emotional reaction. When I don't pause to pray and process my own strong reactions, I usually respond in kind with my own sin.

God's timing and sense of justice is different from ours. His ordained plan is sometimes difficult to understand when we see pain and suffering in the world caused by people who are far from Him. Or sometimes, the pain is caused by people who have a relationship with Him, but who offend others through their own sin struggle. My "right response" can only come through seeking wisdom in every situation. This kind of wisdom can come from the Word of God or through the body of Christ, which includes my friends in community and in the ministry in which I serve. Only then can I have a "right response" in dealing with the offenses of another.

In today’s psalm we see Asaph crying out for God's justice and punishment on evildoers. "Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD—that you alone are the Most High over all the earth." (Psalm 83:18, NIV) That is all we need to pray for when we are offended. He will guide us in our responses, in His timing—not ours.

1. What is your "right response" to a person who has hurt or offended you in some way?

2. How can you prayerfully consider this with others around you?

3. To whom do you need to make amends for responding out of hurt or anger?

4. What issue have you struggled with that might be resolved in His timing—not yours?