Mensa Otabil - God Is Just (10/07/2025)
Well, today is Ghana’s 65th independence celebration, so we pray that God will bless our homeland, Ghana, and make our nation great and strong. May His peace settle upon our land, and may He make us prosperous in all that we do. We go to Psalm number 10; this is the concluding part of Psalm 10, verses 17 and 18.
«Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You prepare their heart; You cause Your ear to hear, to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, that man of the earth may oppress no more.» This is how the psalmist ends his prayer in Psalm 10. He has moved a very long distance from «Why do You stand afar off?» to affirming God’s power and His intervention at the end.
That is how we pray: we may start with unbelief, but we end in faith. We finish with full assurance of who God is.There are a few things he says in these concluding thoughts that I want you to note. First, God hears the desire of the humble. This goes against what he mentioned at the beginning when he said God was standing afar off. Now, he asserts at the end of his prayer, «Lord, I know You hear me, even when I don’t see You or feel Your presence. I may think You have abandoned me, but You’re still there, and You hear.» That’s a strong statement of faith: God hears the desire of the humble.
Then he says that God strengthens the heart of His people; He prepares their heart. What does that mean? It means that when we’re going through difficulties, God strengthens our hearts. He gives us strength and fortitude; He provides us the ability to withstand everything we face. For every attack that may come against you, God gives you the strength and heart to bear it so it does not overwhelm you. Don’t lose heart; don’t lose heart-God will bring you through.
He also says that God hears the prayer of the humble. He doesn’t just hear; He answers. Everything he is saying now is in response to what he stated earlier. At the beginning, he gave the impression that God was not interested, that God doesn’t listen. Now he affirms faith as he concludes his prayer: «God, You hear the prayer of the humble.» He may not respond immediately when you pray, but He hears, and He will answer.
In due season, you will see the power of God, the might of the Lord, and the favor of God at work in your situation.The fourth point is that God does justice for the oppressed. Justice is at the heart of God’s dealings with us. In the end, God will make all things right. That is so true throughout the Scriptures: God’s justice is affirmed, and you see the high and mighty overthrown repeatedly, with the weak protected by the Lord. Justice is at the core of God’s nature, and so the psalmist asserts that in the end, God will grant justice to His people.
So if you think you’ve been unfairly treated or unjustly dealt with, and if you feel that someone strong is using their might against you, remember that they may seem to progress, but God rules in the affairs of this life. Just remember, when people come against the oppressed, the humble, the weak, and the poor, they are coming against God. They may have no one to call, but God will hear them, and He will answer.
If you oppress the weak and the humble and the poor, God will fight you because He will affirm His justice in the end.I trust that you’ve been blessed by the psalm as we listen to the contemplations of the psalmist and his prayer, learning how God wants us to pray when we come before Him.
Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, You are present with me in times of trouble. Thank You for hearing and answering me. In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen. Well, tomorrow I start a new series on another part of the Bible. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.