Biding Time

Psalms 34:17-22
(17) When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
(18) The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
(19) Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
(20) He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.
(21) Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
(22) The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Passages like these become nonsensical if we do not keep an eternal view. I have cried for help in trouble and did not receive the help I wanted at the time. Countless martyrs have died terrible deaths, so does that mean verse 19 is wrong?

The Lord does stay near to the brokenhearted. He does ultimately save them as well. However, this must be viewed through the long lens. It is always true from an eternal perspective. This is how we make sense of evil in the world too. God will take care of His own in eternity, but it may not seem like it in this world.

This is also why I have such a hard time with the prosperity message. What do those folks do in times like this when the economy is faltering? What do they do when someone gets sick? Are those churches being winnowed down because of the evidence of lack of faith in so many members who are laid-off? Or are those who still have their jobs just encouraging those without to develop a stronger faith so that God will provide the temporal riches that He supposedly promises?

God will take care of His own. It just will be on His timetable rather than ours.