A COMPLAINT, A CRY! A COMPLAINT, A CRY! A COMPLAINT, A CRY!

On most, if not all, occasions when we pick up the Bible either to read or just casually flip through it, God will speak to us from its pages. Sometimes, a long sought for piece to a theological puzzle of ours will stand boldly upon it for that viola moment of fulfillment in our search. At other moments, a gentle persuasion of God's Truth will speak, moving the reader ever closer to the encounter He wants to have with a lost soul or one who comes seeking in that moment.

Very seldom will we ever go away unrewarded. That's just not His nature. He loves to give. There isn't anything He won't do for us unless it violates His nature or will. Truly, His Word declares it to be both food and water for the searching unfulfilled soul. Just ask the woman at the well in John chapter 4.

Then there are times of great crises, times when our world doesn't make sense. We turn to every important person to us for either outright aid or just to help us better understand what it is we are going through and still we are at a loss. We turn to His Word. We may not have a preconceived notion where we will read, so we just open it, hoping the pages that randomly appear contain something that will speak to us in our crisis.

You say, 'well, that's how God's Word works, isn't it? There's always something on any random page we can apply for our instruction and encouragement.' OK, have you ever flipped to Leviticus for your morning devotion? Probably not, unless you are a student in the Mosaic Law.

So, you ask, Ken, where are you going with this? Great question. Here it is.

This morning I was doing my normal reading when out popped Psalm 10. Viola!—for a crisis moment we likely share whether we are American or from another part of the world. As you think of the recent disturbing events that continue to swirl around us, see if it doesn't speak to you as well. I won't try and put my thoughts into your mind. Just read and listen. I include it here for your convenience.

Psalm 10

1. Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
   Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2. In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
   who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3. He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
   he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
4. In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
   in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5. His ways are always prosperous;
   your laws are rejected by him;
   he sneers at all his enemies.
6. He says to himself, 'Nothing will ever shake me.'
   He swears, 'No one will ever do me harm.'
7. His mouth is full of lies and threats;
   trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8. He lies in wait near the villages;
   from ambush he murders the innocent.
   His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9. like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
   He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
   he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10. His victims are crushed, they collapse;
    they fall under his strength.
11. He says to himself, 'God will never notice;
    he covers his face and never sees.'
12. Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
    Do not forget the helpless.
13. Why does the wicked man revile God?
    Why does he say to himself,
    'He won't call me to account'?
14. But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
    you consider their grief and take it in hand.
    The victims commit themselves to you;
    you are the helper of the fatherless.
15. Break the arm of the wicked man;
    call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
    that would not otherwise be found out.
16. The Lord is King for ever and ever;
    the nations will perish from his land.
17. You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
    you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18. defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
    so that mere earthly mortals
    will never again strike terror.

Now, isn't this our complaint and our cry in our current crisis?

See also: Abdicating the Kingdom.