Psalm 80:4

Psalm 80:4

How long?

We have reflected before on those two little words, “How long?” At first sight they seem to suggest impatience at God’s tardiness and be part of an attitude of complaint that He just keeps people waiting interminably when He should be doing something! 

There is another side to it. If you ask, “how long?” you are inferring that relief is going to come, that there will be an end to the suffering, that whatever is going wrong, help is at hand. It’s not a matter of “if” but “when.” The disciples asked Jesus, “When will these things be?” On another occasion He told them, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority.” Mark 13:4. Acts 1:7. That’s the whole point, there are times and dates and seasons. Times in the history of nations and events that affect the whole world and dates that are particular to you and me. All is in hand; every day is special and marked off on the calendar of the Almighty. He knows what will happen today and He has our lives under His control. 

The jarring note in today’s verse is the reminder that sometimes we plead for action and for God to relent and to deliver us, knowing full well that we must suffer His anger and that the judgements that have come upon us are the consequences of our own actions. I suspect that when we know this, most of us are reluctant to ask, “How long?”

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