Where Your Identity Lies

There are times when it feels like God isn’t paying attention to the things that are going on here on earth. The author of Psalm 74 felt this way too and begged God to reach down and help those who were being mistreated and oppressed.

When we feel like the world is in chaos and God isn’t seeing things, we can be honest
with Him and tell Him our frustrations. As we come to Him, He assures us that He does see what’s happening, He reminds us that He is always working, and He promises that He will bring about justice in the end. When Jesus came and lived among us, He revealed that God loves us deeply and wants to be intimately involved in the mess of the world. Jesus had compassion for the oppressed, He brought healing and hope, and He took all the world’s suffering on Himself when He went to the cross. When Jesus rose from the dead, He defeated sin and all its effects.

If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, God invites us to be part of the good things He is doing. When we see people suffering on the street, God invites us to cry out for Him to do something. We can ask God to heal their hurts and help them. When we hear of people dying all around the world, we can cry out to God for help. We can ask Him to move in power and stop violence, and to show Himself to people so that they do not die without knowing Him. As we notice and pray, God might give us opportunities to bless people, or He might just be calling us to pray for them and trust Him with the rest.

When we hear of injustices and people who are hurting, we can cry out as the psalmist did. We can ask God to pay attention to the things going on here on earth, knowing that He sees, He cares, and He responds to the prayers of His people. • Emily Acker

• Do you ever feel like God isn’t paying attention? How might today’s Bible passages speak into this?

• What hurts do you see in the world today? Do you feel like you can talk to God about these?

Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth. Psalm 54:2 (NIV)

Read Verses:

2Cor.1.21-2Cor.1.22|Eph.1.11-Eph.1.14|1John.3.1