Are You Watching, God?

Yesterday we learned from Psalm 9 that God is our refuge in times of trouble. Today, we are looking at Psalm 10, and we will see that we can depend upon God, even when it appears that the evil in the world is prospering. Please join me in prayer as we ask God to open our hearts to learn from His word.

Heavenly Father, I come to You with an open heart, ready to learn from Your word. Please give me the understanding I seek from You. Teach me Your ways so that I know how to respond to evil whenever I feel afflicted and helpless. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Psalm 10 (NLT)

1 O Lord, why do you stand so far away?

    Why do you hide when I am in trouble?

2 The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor.

    Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.

3 For they brag about their evil desires;

    they praise the greedy and curse the Lord.

4 The wicked are too proud to seek God.

    They seem to think that God is dead.

5 Yet they succeed in everything they do.

    They do not see your punishment awaiting them.

    They sneer at all their enemies.

6 They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us!

    We will be free of trouble forever!”

7 Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats.

    Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.
8 They lurk in ambush in the villages,

    waiting to murder innocent people.

    They are always searching for helpless victims.

9 Like lions crouched in hiding,

    they wait to pounce on the helpless.

Like hunters they capture the helpless

    and drag them away in nets.

10 Their helpless victims are crushed;

    they fall beneath the strength of the wicked.

11 The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us!

    He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”

12 Arise, O Lord!

    Punish the wicked, O God!

    Do not ignore the helpless!

13 Why do the wicked get away with despising God?

    They think, “God will never call us to account.”

14 But you see the trouble and grief they cause.

    You take note of it and punish them.

The helpless put their trust in you.

    You defend the orphans.

15 Break the arms of these wicked, evil people!

    Go after them until the last one is destroyed.

16 The Lord is king forever and ever!

    The godless nations will vanish from the land.

17 Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.

    Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.

18 You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,

    so mere people can no longer terrify them.

This psalm presents us with a list of observations defining who the wicked are. Think about your personal description of the wicked. Is God's definition more or less inclusive than yours?

As followers of Christ, we need to align ourselves with God’s word. Before I came to know Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, I was one of those wicked people. God worked in my life to bring me to Him. I now have the privilege of asking God to draw the wicked to Him and show them His salvation, just like He did me. Are the wicked on your prayer list?

In closing today, we need to remember that we will experience affliction in our earthly lives. When we do, prayer is how we battle. Please consider the prayer prompts below as you go to God in honest conversation.

Take your afflictions to Jesus, asking Him for His strength and wisdom.

Pray earnestly for those who are wicked to you or who have caused you trouble.

May God bless you with His presence as you go about your day.