Psalm 35

A few weeks ago, I was reading my friend Ashlee’s latest blog post. I don’t normally advertise for other people, but this one was especially good: http://ashsouthafrica.blogspot.com/2011/06/gone-overseas-and-its-brought-me-to-my.html . It really describes something I’ve felt lately.

A little while back I was reading Psalm 35, and it really stirred up my heart’s cry and brought up a lot of questions that I was discussing with Piet.

The author, David, is pleading with God to take away his enemies and to deal with them justly. He also mentions that God’s heart is for the poor and how he rescues them and sees them.

10 You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who rob them.

13 When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
14 I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother.

22 O Lord, you have seen this; be not silent. Do not be far from me, O Lord.
23 Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord.

It made me think, however. But just hear my thoughts… Does God really rescue the poor? Does he really save them from those who are too strong for them? If I’m totally honest, living in this country makes me question if he does. I see young children with torn clothes, shoes with holes, and starving bellies on a regular basis. These children are unwashed and lonely. Some of their parents have died and have no one to look after them. It just seems so unfair, and I began to ask the Lord if he really does see them, or are his eyes blind toward them. How many genuine prayers are being unanswered? Why does he leave them to suffer? I began discussing my concerns with Piet.

There is an unfortunate reality in South Africa. There is a spirit of laziness and abuse. So often the little money that a family might earn is used on alcohol to drown the sorrows that they feel.  Not long ago Piet and I were speaking to someone who lives in a shack who wants to buy a Mercedes! Their perceptions are so distorted. They think the status of a nice car trumps feeding their family because it shows that they are doing “ok”. Have you ever seen a Mercedes parked next to a tin shack? It’s very strange and certainly counterproductive.

Piet made the comment that God gives us the ability to reason and to understand the things that are right. People in the informal settlements are crying for food, yet not making the effort to get a job. There is one guy who attends our church who calls Piet on occasion looking for a job, yet he makes no effort to find one himself. He thinks that just because Piet is married to a white lady he has lots of money or can “pull strings” for him.

I get very encouraged by all the small businesses that are run by the side of the road or otherwise because these people have seen the vision and are running with it and can then provide for their families. Some of the hardest workers in South Africa, however, aren’t even South Africans-it is those who see and appreciate the opportunities- the Zimbabweans, Nigerians, and Malawians that have nothing for them in their home country and come to South Africa for work.

The truth is that there are the many innocent children living below the poverty line who are sadly living in the sins and disregard of their parents. And the truth is there in David’s words: O Lord, you have seen this. And as Piet was relating to his personal experiences, some are very content where they are at. It doesn’t mean that they must go from a shack to a mansion. If they were able to eat that day, then God took care of them. God saw their need and he rescued them. Piet even as a young boy knew that God looked after him because he never went without.

So maybe it’s not up to me to judge God and to say that he doesn’t answer their prayers. He does. In ways that are tangible for each one.

Piet’s comments: That being said, we acknowledge that everything happens for a reason and our task is to seek God’s will in the situation. I (Piet) have come to an understanding that we might not fix the situation but if we continue witnessing the truth, people will be set free, not forgetting that we should cultivate goodness within our lives so that the fruit of goodness is produced. It is impossible to produce true kindness (doing well to others) without practicing goodness.  Our words are not enough, but the Godly character in us makes our speech true. Character is a witness of what is inside us.

Thank you Lord, as David says later in Psalm 68:5, YOU are the “father to the fatherless, a defender of widows…”

Stirred by compassion,

The Bakers