Dare to hope
Someone deeply distressed, wonders why God doesn't help in times of trouble. Does it mean God doesn't care? God knows what's happening but stands aloof? "Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" (Psalm 10:1 NIV) Psalm 10 speaks about a powerful ruler who says to himself "Nothing will shake me: I will always be happy and never have trouble" while he murders the innocent and oppresses the weak. According to the Psalmist this man has no respect for God and says to himself "God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees." Reading this psalm, I found myself thinking about the current situation in places like Libya. The Psalm ends with an affirmation that God does see and cares about people's trouble and grief: "You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry". When I read this, my thoughts were of the catastroph...