Wake up, Lord!

Wake up, O Lord! Why do you sleep ? Get up! Do not reject us forever. Why do you look the other way? Why do you ignore our suffering and oppression? We collapse in the dust, lying face down in dirt. Rise up! Come and help us! Save us because of your unfailing love. Psalm 44: 23-26 NLT

I find it a bit presumptive that we could control God. Ever.

So why does the psalmist try to act like he can wake God up? Would God really be asleep? That seems to human to be God.

The psalmist has just said that God knows our hearts and our secrets. Would God then be looking the other way? If God looked the other way, we certainly could get by with more than we do now.

The psalmist is really trying to manipulate God. And God can't be manipulated. Certainly we can take our supplications to God and explain our situation fully. But to constantly insist we have done nothing is to be like Job and not realize the extent of God's sovereignty. We can't think like God nor understand why God does what God does. We certainly would like to so that we can be god.

We can't explain our suffering and we can't change God. We can complain, fuss, rant and cry out. God hears us. We can then fall into God's arms, exhausted, pressing in our God's mercy and love.

We can be a people who simply trust.

God, sometimes we just want to wake you up and get you to do what we want. But that is not what you are about. Forgive us when we attempt to manipulate you. Help us to trust instead. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2011 Amelia G. Sims