Passage Read: Psalm 91-94
Meditation Verses: 94:16-19
Thought
There is real wickedness in the world. There are those who just go their own way and do whatever they like, and in the doing, they harm a few people. But there are wicked men who have great power, kings, rulers and governors, whose decisions affect thousands or even millions of people. The righteous would be happy if they were just left alone to live righteous lives. But even that should be hard when they see the wickedness of their neighbors. They can't change them; at most they can only warn them. But when wicked rulers come to power and bring misery by their decrees, and they band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent, what can the righteous do? They can only look to God for support and for deliverance. God may act on their behalf, but if He doesn't, the righteous still need to do what is righteous. They need to rest in God's comfort and trust in Him so as not to give way to anxiety.
Application
My hope must always be in God, not in my circumstances. Though all the world hate God and His people, I need to remain faithful to do His will. And the world is promised to turn against Him and His people. If I depend on the people around me, near or far, to encourage me to do what is good and right in God's eyes, there will come times when few do so, and I am tempted to relax my efforts to know and serve Him. I'll be tempted to give up because those arrayed against God's truth are far more in number than those who love and do God's will. They cannot be the source of my confidence or encouragement. The Lord has comfort and support and help for me to carry on in what is right when all around me seems hopeless.