WHEN IS IT TIME FOR GOD TO ACT?
The psalmist saw the people of the world becoming more and more rebellious, ignoring the law of God. He called on the Lord to take action. This call was made especially acute by the fact that Psalm 119 was written as an ode to God’s Word. Usually ascribed to David as its author, it is said that he wrote the acrostic poem to teach his son the Hebrew alphabet, while also instilling in him a love for God’s Word. As the longest of the 150 psalms, it stands at the center of the Bible as a banner for the beauty and perfection of the Word of God.
The psalmist saw the law of God that he loved, being treated as “void” (“empty, invalid”). He felt it was time for God to do something about it. But he need not have been concerned. For God’s Word never comes up empty. As the Lord told the prophet Isaiah, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please. And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:11).
God’s people today may often feel as David did, that it is “time for the Lord to act.” Yet the Lord is not slow, nor slack in responding. The Lord’s timing is His own. As the apostle Peter explained, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).
The truth is the Lord has already acted and continues to act. He acted when He sent His only Son, Jesus, to give His life as a ransom. He is acting now to draw us to Himself by the Spirit of Christ. And He will ultimately act on that Day when Jesus returns.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we wonder as David did whether it is time for You to act, O Lord. Consider the state of the world, of our nation, even our city. Consider the utter disregard that people seem to have for Your Word. They treat it as if it were mere myth, as if it were void. Yet, we love Your Word. We believe Your Word. We know that the timing is Yours, but even so, O Lord, come quickly. In Jesus’ name, amen.