When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. ~Proverbs 21:15
The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He knows their day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their sword will pierce their own hearts and their bows will be broken. ~Psalm 37:12-15
Do you remember some of your kids’ temper tantrums? We do. They could be so loud and so obnoxious, but there were those times when those tiny little persons threatened something so ridiculous like, “I’m gonna hold my breath until I die if you don’t give me my way!” or, I love this one, they muster all the power they have in that little frame and look at you sternly and say, “I REALLY MEAN It!” Sometimes, it was all we could do to keep from laughing at some of the threats our kids made when things weren’t going their way.
However, you have to admit that those threats might be taken very seriously by another sibling or a playmate their own size. God hears the threats and sees the mess and I believe that He has a chuckle at times over those who believe that they are powerful. That thought has helped me through so much lately. I’m concerned about the evil around us. I hear the threats made by others on my level. They may think that they are above me, lots of politicians do, but from God’s perspective, they are really at the same level as I am. And that’s the circumstances I’m mainly thinking of here. But for some people there are more personal attacks and the principle still applies.
I comfort myself a lot lately with the thought, “The Lord Laughs.” My prayer more and more is that He will help me to see His humor in our current circumstances. This doesn’t mean that He doesn’t take our sufferings seriously. No, He knows that our contemporaries can be very mean and hurtful, and He also knows that they need to be punished, just as our children often had to be dealt with for their bad behavior.
The truth is, however, while He sees the evil and hears the mean talk and threats, He’s not threatened by any of it. He knows who He is and He knows that He still has control of the situation. He calls us to keep trusting that fact and lean into it, not lean into hopelessness, thinking that all is lost.
All is not lost. Our Father is watching. He has a constant eye on the situation, and He knows what He is doing. “When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.” Do you remember the peace that comes in the family when the bad behavior is dealt with? It’s coming for us too, if not now, then soon. That is our hope and hope does not disappoint. We do not need to fret about it. Just keep doing what we are called too and let Him handle the chaos.
Prayer: Father, as far as it is possible for me, I pray to be a source of peace not contention. I pray to have Your peace that passes understanding in my heart so that circumstances might not ruffle my feathers so easily. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: I Will Rise
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