DEVOTIONAL: God sees it.

Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge? The Lord knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile – Psalm 94:9-11

God sees it and gets it.

There are many comforting verses in the bible, but this verse in Psalm 94 is one of the most comforting for me.

There has many been times when God has felt silent. I have cried out to God, yet it’s felt like God has just shut the door of heaven and is ignoring me. Prayers felt like they were going unanswered and peace felt like a distant memory. Other times, I have watched injustice and evil prevail around me and wondered where God was. There is so much evil in the world, both locally and abroad, it can feel like the enemy has won and God has been defeated.

God is listening.

One of the things I love about this verse is the simple truth of it. “Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?” God made us, including our ears. He designed and formed our ears. He gave us the ability to hear, yet we forget that and question whether or not He is listening. When I read this verse, I am reminded that not only does God have great hearing, He is listening to me when I cry out. We don’t always understand His silence, I know I don’t. [bctt tweet=”But God’s silence doesn’t mean He isn’t listening or doesn’t care. #ACW #LeilaArmstrong #trustingGod” username=”acwriters”]

And it’s no different when it comes to injustice and evil. When we look around, it can be so discouraging to see so much evil and injustice and wonder why God won’t do anything to stop it. Habakkuk knew this feeling well. In Habakkuk 1:13 we read the following: “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?”

Habakkuk asked God the same questions we ask Him today; why do you allow injustice and wickedness to go unpunished? Why do you allow them to happen at all? God responds and tells Habakkuk that He does in fact see the wickedness before Him. He let’s Habakkuk know that the wicked will not go unpunished, however justice will come according to God’s time, not Habakkuk’s (Habakkuk 2:2-20).

Time to listen.

Chapter two of Habakkuk ends on a powerful statement and command, “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20). God is reminding us that He sits in His holy temple. And He commands all the earth to be silent before Him. This is not a command to not ask questions or be fearful of God, but a reminder to be still and silent before Him. To sit and listen to what He has to say. To remember that He is God and we are not.

In moments of discouragement, fear or frustration, we need to stop and sit quietly before God. We need to sit at His feet and remember that He, not us, sits in his holy temple. And that the One that created the whole world deserves our attention and adoration.

Trusting God to act.

God knows all the plans we make. Good or bad, God knows it all. He doesn’t lack knowledge or understanding. Nothing takes him by surprise because He knows our thoughts and plans. And without God in it, our plans are futile. It may seem like plans succeed. It may even seem like evil is winning and injustice reigns supreme, but it doesn’t. Because God sits on His throne and He will act. We don’t know when or how, but He will. The God of justice and mercy will not leave evil unpunished. We may not see it in the time frame we want. We actually may not see it all. But it will happen. We just need to trust God and take Him at his word.

Reflection Questions

Have you seen God redeem an injustice?

Have you been waiting on God to bring about justice for a situation and if so, how have you seen God in it?