Once, a young woman visited a home fellowship group in our church. It was a time of economic recession and some of our people were out of work. Yet she had observed a faith and stability in their lives that made her curious. “It seems like even when you are sinking in the mud, you don’t sink too far down. Why is that?” she asked. We shared with her that faith in Christ was our stability, and she opened her heart to him that night. In 1 Corinthians 3:11, we are reminded that no other foundation but Christ will remain unshaken when everything around us has crumbled.
Like David in these psalms, there are times in our lives when we feel overwhelmed by the evil and injustice we see around us. It seems there are few godly people left in the world, and that everyone lies (Ps. 12:1–2) Since sin entered our world, no one does what is completely good (Ps. 14:3). We may feel that the very foundation of our lives and society has been shaken. Psalm 11:3 asks the question, “what can the righteous do” when that happens?
We might do better to ask, “What will the Righteous One do?” When we are troubled by injustice we are reminded that God is the one who loves justice (Ps. 11:7). Chapter 12 reminds us that in his justice, God will rise to protect the weak and needy, and that we can take refuge in him.
Nevertheless, we are sometimes tempted to ask, as David did in Psalm 13, whether God has forgotten us, and why he is allowing us to go through trials. Whenever David questioned the Lord, he always came back to the reality of God’s love for him, and that made him able to praise God despite his doubts. Psalm 13:5–6 is a prayer of thanks and praise for the salvation David had yet to experience.
Is Jesus your life’s foundation? If so, then whatever happens, you can feel the security of his love and trust in him.
Jim Jensen
