Psalm 74

Why do some of God's most faithful servants suffer so deeply? What can we say to them as their children face great pain and trouble? What kind of prayers can they bring to the Lord?

“O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?”

Israel sang these words as the Lord's special congregation. We still sing these words today. It is good to continue to cry out to God, even when we cannot get an answer to our questions. He is the best answer.

We read today of churches throughout the world burned down by those who want Christians out of their neighborhoods. Even in Israel we hear of Jews killing other Jews simply for the offense of believing that Jesus is the Messiah. In days of old the very temple of the Lord was overtaken by enemies. They swung their axes against the carved wood in the sanctuary. How much more do we call out to God in desperation when children are hurt who are the living temple of the Most High God.

The worshiping congregation throughout the world who come to Jehovah God through the mediation of the Messiah are the temple of the Lord. They have been baptized in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They eat the bread and drink of the cup at the table of the Lord. They are the Lord's beloved. But they face the hatred of those who hate the Name of Christ or who consider it their service to God to bring harm to others.

But where is our God in this day of distress? Where is the Word of His prophet?

We do have the words of the prophets of old recorded for us in the Scriptures. They walked with God and were moved by the Holy Spirit. We still hear the voice of the Lord through their writings. Each person, young and old, must take responsibility to hear from the Lord. It is not enough to let others explain the words and then to ignore our own need to hear from God. We need to cry out to Him. All of us. “How long,O Lord!”

Then the Lord will meet with us. We will remember who He is and what He has done. We will consider the cross and the resurrection of Jesus, and the mystery of His own cry from the place of atonement. We will see again the certainty of His promises, and we will decide again today that we must not trade what we know for what we do not know.

What we know... We know Jesus. We know His love for His people. We know His power to save. We know His word of promise. We know that heaven is real. We know that our God reigns.

What don't we know? We don't know why those we love have faced the specific suffering that they face.

We can cry out to the Lord about these horrible attacks against His living temple. We can ask Him to remember His covenant promises which are so secure for us in the resurrection of His Son. We can seek Him and find Him. And we can ask Him to come again in person to rescue His people in their day of distress.