September 1, 2010 How Long, Lord?

Written by: Andrea Hall

Psalm 79- Psalm 82

“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you!
O Israel, if you will listen to Me!” (Psalm 81:8, NKJV)

Have you ever asked God “How long?”  I know I have.  Sometimes it seems that everything around us is crashing.  The stock market, the job market, the real-estate market…. my family, my life… Lord, will it ever end?  “How long, Lord” (Psalm 79:5).
How long, Lord will I have to go through… How long, Lord?

This is where we find the children of Israel.  They are appealing to God to answer their heartfelt pleas.  They were questioning God.  As the NIV Study Bible note states, to ask “How long?” takes certain boldness in coming to God.

God wants us to come boldly before His throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).  However, in our questioning of God, we must also be prepared for His answer and in Psalm 81:10-12 God answers.  He says,  “I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me.  So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels”.

Could it be that the reason we go through our hardships is because we have failed to heed or listen to the voice of God?  Have we been stubborn, choosing to walk according to what we think is right instead of what God says is right?

As we ask God “How long, Lord?” in our present situation, we must also ask God to “Heal us and humble us to hear and heed His voice.”

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land”

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)