STANDING FIRM
Opening Prayer
Lord, You are the mainstay of my trust here on earth.
Read PSALM 11
For the director of music. Of David.
1 In the Lord I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:
“Flee like a bird to your mountain.
2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.
3 When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.
5 The Lord examines the righteous,
but the wicked, those who love violence,
he hates with a passion.
6 On the wicked he will rain
fiery coals and burning sulfur;
a scorching wind will be their lot.
7 For the Lord is righteous,
he loves justice;
the upright will see his face.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Take time to name before God any challenges or struggles that you face, whether at home or at work. Ask God to show you how he is present in them.
Think Further
In a time of crisis, the psalmist declares his confidence in the Lord (1). The threat seems imminent and real, compared to a startled bird fleeing from hunters who have set up an ambush (1,2). Trusted friends advise him to imitate the bird and flee. “Look,” they say, “can you not see those gathering to ambush you? To shoot at you from the shadows, giving you no chance to save yourself?” The friends’ concern threatens to overwhelm his confidence in the Lord. After all, they say, when everything else is being shaken, what discernible difference does one person’s contribution actually make?
Having heard their advice and weighed it, still the psalmist takes his refuge in the Lord, who reigns both on earth and in heaven (4), far above and yet close to us. His confidence depends not just on God’s reign but also on the way that reign is exercised. The verb translated “examine” in verse 4 is drawn from the practice of assaying precious metals. Using the refiner’s fire, the metal was melted so that impurities could be removed. Thus, God is not passively observing both the righteous and the wicked but actively assaying their worth (5). Those who delight in violence (2) attract God’s judgment, expressed as a dry-as-a-bone desert wind from which there’s no relief and eventual destruction (6); but the righteous, purified through testing, will know the Lord as their refuge through the privilege of experiencing God’s empowering presence.
So the psalmist makes the Lord his refuge, knowing that vindication will come to the one who puts all trust in him. As another psalm puts it, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psa. 27:14).
Apply
The promise is that we will see God’s face. Ask God to show you any obstacles in your life that are keeping you from walking more closely with him.
Closing prayer
Lord, I believe that You sit high and look low as You observe the deeds of the righteous and the wicked.
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