I know the Psalms have been of great comfort to me when I needed comfort from danger. But one time, a Christian friend was reading from Psalm 145 and mentioned something pretty important. “The Lord is near all who call…will fulfill the desire of those who fear him…he will hear their cry and save them…he preserves all who love him.” We love to read those verses, (verses 18-20a) she said; but we can’t treat God’s Word like that, just picking and choosing the things we like and leaving out the things that make us uncomfortable. We need to read it all, remembering it’s God’s Word. And she read to the end of the verse.
Ps. 145:20b “but all the wicked will he destroy.”
Actually, when she first read it, it sounded rather cold and unfeeling. I realized later, God sees things to the end. He thinks of our good and our safety up to the minutest detail and won’t leave things to chance.
J.C.’s YOUNGER BROTHER
Chris almost slams into his older brother Jay who happens to be visiting at home and is standing on the other side of the door when the teen comes crashing through. Jay hasn’t taken off his overcoat, hat, sunglasses--had it been a less tense moment, there would’ve been joking about how J.C. himself looked like a man from the mafia. But the younger brother has shut the door hard behind him and is standing with his back against it, breathing hard.
He tries to greet his brother but cannot talk, can only tremble. Jay looks at his perspiring brother and doesn’t ask for an explanation or a greeting. Mom and Dad, worried, has written Jay about Chris’s recent “friends”. So it has come to this? Jay gives a knowing look to the father who nods and walks to the garage. Then he gently peels his brother off the door he seems glued to.
Jay cracks it open a bit, peers out into the street, and says to the younger brother who has been running and is dirty, out of breath, and has cuts and bruises all over himself:
“There’s hot water in the tub—Mom always has the tub full this time in the evening. There should be food on the table too. Go take a bath and get a hot meal. And Mom will take care of all those—whatever you did to yourself—there’s plenty of ointment in the medicine cabinet, I’m assuming?”
At this, Jay glances over at his mother, who nods assent. “I’ll go out and have a talk with your buddies giving you a hard time. I already know who they are and all about them. Dad’s going to back me up in the car, is already out in the garage getting it warmed up to follow me out. He may’ve retired from the force a long time ago Chris, but his years in law enforcement will hold us in good stead. And he doesn’t say a whole lot, but you know he really does care a lot about the family.”
“Now git Chris, take a bath before you stink up the whole place.”
Some people don’t like a God that destroys the wicked. They think that’s a scary God. Well, I guess I want a God that shows strength in protecting those He loves.
Scripture says God doesn’t say only, “I love you.” He also says, “I’ll take care of the bad guys.” That’s why I can relax and go take a bath, have a hot meal. I know I can leave the rest up to Him.
