God is the Defender!

September 7, 2010

The other day walking out of the grocery store, I saw something that I wish I had never seen. I stepped out of the automatic doors and took a few steps into the parking lot when I heard someone crying. I looked in the direction of the crying, and I saw a horrible sight. A woman, I assume the mother, had hold of two little girls arms and was literally dragging them across the pavement. I had to do a double take as I watched their little bare legs scrape against the asphalt. And the whole time they were crying and saying, “Mommy, mommy.”

Part of me wanted to run over there and rip those little girls out of her hands and help them stand on their own. And I still don’t know why I didn’t do something. As I continued on my way back to my car, I saw several other shoppers literally stopped in their tracks watching with their mouths agape at this heartbreaking scene. What do you do when you feel so helpless to do anything?

Who would stand up for those two little girls?

God is the Defender!

Psalm 10
Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.

He boasts of the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

In his pride the wicked does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws are far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies.

He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me;
I'll always be happy and never have trouble."

His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.

He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent,
watching in secret for his victims.

He lies in wait like a lion in cover;
he lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.

He says to himself, "God has forgotten;
he covers his face and never sees."

Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.

Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
"He won't call me to account"?

But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.

Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness
that would not be found out.

The LORD is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.

You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more. (NIV)

The battle between good and evil is waging right now. Wickedness lurks around every corner, hiding like a lion waiting to pounce, just as David describes in this psalm.

The question David poses at the beginning came to mind when I was watching two innocent girls being dragged across a parking lot by their mother. “Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” Why couldn’t God stop what was happening? Why didn’t He supernaturally intervene?

The only answer is that we live in a fallen world. Sin entered the world along with wickedness. And once it infiltrates hearts and minds, it encompasses everything. Just read what David wrote. He describes the state of our world perfectly where innocence is captured and stripped away, where pride and greed are rewarded, and wickedness is not punished.

BUT…David ends the psalm with hope! Our hope comes from the Lord. Just like God will be victorious in the end, God is the Defender against evil and wickedness. God is everything Satan is not. Satan is described in the first eleven verses, but God has the last word. Satan will be defeated along with wickedness and evil and sin. Because God is our Defender!

And even though we may not see it now, He does defend the oppressed. He even defends those two precious girls.