Lent Reflection: When God Breaks a Promise

Psalm 37:32-34

32 The wicked watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33 The Lord will not abandon him to his power
or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.

34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on when the wicked are cut off.

Psalm 37 is a promise from God to the Hebrews that they would never be forsaken. The psalmist recognizes that the world is unjust. There are numerous observations that the wicked have, and the righteous do not. Despite the injustice of the world, the Hebrew people are exhorted to trust in God, who will act on their behalf.

Such faith must have seemed foolish for the disciples on Good Friday. On that day, the wicked put the most righteous man ever to live on trial, and he was condemned to death. What good are God's promises if even His Son doesn't get an answer?

Jennifer asked these same questions when her friend, a thirty-something wife and mother, died of breast cancer. Where was God during her suffering?

My impulse is to quickly point to the resurrection as God's final answer to injustice and suffering. But even then, God did not act immediately. Jesus did not rise immediately after dying. The tomb was not emptied until Sunday.

There is a time when we have to sit and wait for God to act. And during this time, it is appropriate for us to ask the hard questions of God. The psalms do not shy away from such interrogations of the Creator. Even Jesus, quoting Psalm 22, questioned the Father while on the cross: My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?

Yes, the resurrection is coming. Easter is on its way. But I am reminded that there is a time when we must watch as the wicked prosper, and the righteous suffer. There is a time when God is silent, and we want so desperately for Him to speak. Let us sit in that silence, and wait together.