Week 15: Day 5
Does God get angry about the bad things in this world? Join Sam for the final Orbit reflection of the week, reading through Psalm 14 together.
The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Do all these evildoers know nothing?
They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord. But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge.
Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
Intro: Hello and welcome back to Orbit: a short reflection to help you put God at the centre of your life, from the team behind Satellites - I'm Sam Donaghey and I’ll be leading us through our reading of Psalm 14. Now, I’m just gonna guarantee that I will not make any Sam reading a Psalm jokes – I promise. But do appreciate how much effort that it is taking me to do that!!!
Bible: Now, to our daily reading – Psalm 14 – and I am reading from The Message translation.
Bilious and bloated, they gas, “God is gone.” Their words are poison gas, fouling the air; they poison rivers and skies; thistles are their cash crop.
God sticks his head out of heaven. He looks around. He’s looking for someone not stupid one man, even, God-expectant, just one God-ready woman.
He comes up empty. A string of zeros. Useless, unshepherded sheep, taking turns pretending to be Shepherd. The ninety and nine follow their fellow.
Don’t they know anything, all these predators? Don’t they know they can’t get away with this— treating people like a fast-food meal over which they’re too busy to pray?
Night is coming for them, and nightmares, for God takes the side of victims. Do you think you can mess with the dreams of the poor? You can’t, for God makes their dreams come true.
Is there anyone around to save Israel? Yes. God is around; God turns life around. Turned-around Jacob skips rope, turned-around Israel sings laughter.
Thoughts: What a psalm. What a declaration of God’s anger toward those who trash his creation and those around them.
Sometimes we get a bit squirmy about the idea of God being angry but are you not glad that God gets angry about rape, human slavery, child abuse, mass greed, climate destruction? Are you not glad that His heart aches at these things? I certainly am. I am so glad that God, who I follow, is so just.
So, today, in my last reflection, I simply ask these questions: what is God leading you to have a righteous anger about? An anger that says: this is not the way things should be, and this is not the way it will be because God – by his power and through his people – will transform this. What is it He is giving His anger to you about?
Secondly, are you, as it says in verse 2, ‘God-expectant’? Are you expectant that God will use your life, your experiences, your voice, your heart, your hands, your skills, your gifts to bring about his transformation? Even in small ways, and most likely in small ways – God has put you where you are for this moment. What would change in your life if you lived more expectantly of God wanting to change the environments you are in through you?
Prayer: Now, I’m going to pray a short prayer, and then go straight into our time of reflection.
God, I simply pray, give us your anger over injustice, give us the wisdom to know where you are leading us, give us the confidence and the knowledge that you long to see us join in with your mission of justice. God, give us the empowerment we need to say 'here am I, send me'. Come Holy Spirit - spirit of justice - and fill us. Amen
Reflection: Let’s take a few moments to reflect upon what we’ve heard in the passage or something that I have shared.
Action: Take some time to sit and ask God to speak to you about what it is, in the world at large or even in the world around, that He is giving you a holy dissatisfaction about. And then, get informed. Research about the issue. Research what others and Christians are doing about that in your area or even further afield. And then, prayerfully, get involved. You’ll find that as you research and get involved, you’ll have a greater ability to tell if that’s what God is leading you into.
Outro: Thank you so much for listening. Bye!