A Watchful God

A Watchful God

Psa 146:5-10 NLT - [5] But happy are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God. [6] He is the one who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He is the one who keeps every promise forever, [7] who gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners. [8] The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts the burdens of those bent beneath their loads. The LORD loves the righteous. [9] The LORD protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. [10] The LORD will reign forever. O Jerusalem, your God is King in every generation! Praise the LORD!

Psalms 146 reminds us of an important truth: that our God watches out for the world. So many times we forget He is here. We see and hear of unlimited violence on the television and radio. We are told our world is crashing down, and that Jesus will come soon. But so quickly we forget of how He has helped the hands of the broken. He has crushed the nations who wage war against His saints. He has fed the poor, aided the widows. The Lord “frees the prisoners.” He “opens the eyes of the blind.” He “lifts the burdens of those bent beneath their loads. He “protects the foreigners among us.” He “cares for the orphans and widows, but frustrates the plans of the wicked.”

So quickly we forget that the Lord is watching over this world. He is watching over His children. God does not throw in the towel too easily. We are like rebellious children whom He is wrestling into submission. He knows just what is needed to turn us back to Him.

Knowing this, we should receive joy and hope. It is tempting for us to give up on the world, to deem it hopeless, though it is in such desperate need of saving. Souls have yet to be won to the Kingdom. Each individual is precious in the eyes of God, and the Lord desires each one to be redeemed. So He watches. And watches. And He acts. How does he act? He acts through the actions of His children. The Lord’s hands and feet are not bound by the celestial sinews of an infinite force, but are knit together by the souls of men and women willing and ready to do His will.

I wonder, do we act knowing the Lord is looking down on His creation? Psalms says, “Happy are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God.” God is our helper: this should bring joy and hope to us. If, as the Psalmist describes, “He is the one who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He is the one who keeps every promise forever,” then can He not keep His promise of protection for His children? Can He not keep creating each day? You know, Genesis 1 may have mentioned that day six was the last process involved in the physical creation of the world, but day seven never ended. There was no “evening and morning, the seventh day.” God’s creation has shifted to the lives of individuals spread across the face of the earth. He creates hearts, and He watches them from above. Amen.

With love in Christ,

Austin Aldrich