Mensa Otabil - God Is In Charge (11/03/2025)
Psalm 10, verse 16: The Lord is King forever and ever; the nations have perished out of His land. I like how the psalmist progresses in prayer and in faith. When we pray, we sometimes start with the question, «Why me, Lord? Why, Lord? Why is this, Lord?» but you don’t end your prayer with «Why me, Lord?» This is the important thing I want you to learn from the Psalms. As you observe God’s people in prayer, they start questioning their situation, wondering whether God is involved in it. But as they progress, they begin to be strong in faith and bold in their assertions. In verse 16, we see such a bold declaration about who God is: that God is King forever. That’s the first statement he makes: God is King.
Now remember that in the earlier part of the psalm, the wicked person is saying there is no God, that God has given up on His people, and that God will not do anything about this. The person who is praying may even believe it, and that’s why he says, «Lord, why are You standing afar off?» But now he says, «God, You are King.» He affirms that God is not dead, that God is active and alive in his life. The thing he says encourages all of us to pray; it helps us understand that God rules in the lives of His people. He’s King, and He rules in the lives of His people. God is alive in your life; He is ruling your life. He is directing the affairs of your life. Don’t ever think that He is standing afar off. He’s concerned and involved; He rules in your life. Not only that, He rules over the plans of the wicked. The wicked may plan all they want, but they are not all-powerful by themselves. They are not champions by themselves; they are not the beginning and the end of everything. God rules over the plans of the wicked, and He can scatter their plans. He does scatter the plans of the wicked.
So God is King; He rules the lives of His people. He rules over the plans of the wicked; He rules in the events of our world. Sometimes when you watch world history, it may seem as if God is absent, that nations are just doing all they please, or people are just doing what they please. But God rules in the events of this world, and not only that, in the events of our lives. God uses all the things that are happening to work out His purposes in our lives. God makes all things work together for the good of those who are called according to His purpose. You have to know that God can take what was meant for evil against you and turn it to your good. God can take a pit that was dark for you and fill it with water, making it probably a lake or a pond for you to get water supply from. God is able to take what was set against you and turn it into your advantage because He rules over the events of our world, He rules over the plans of the wicked, and He rules in the lives of His people.
God rules forever and ever. The Lord is King forever and ever. God’s rule has no end. Evil may rule for a season, and for every evil work, there is an expiry date. But for the work of God, there is no expiry date because He rules forever and ever. Today, evil may stand, but tomorrow it falls. When God stands, He stands forever and ever. Don’t ever look at evil and think, «Oh, it’s going to stand forever and ever.» No, the only One who stands forever and ever is Jehovah God Almighty.
Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, use everything I am going through to work out Your purposes for my life. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.