12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. 13 Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, "He won't call me to account"? 14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out. 16 The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. 17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, 18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

The first eleven verses of this Psalm describe the wicked man who has no regard for God. In his arrogance, he takes advantage of the poor, he mistreats those who cannot defend themselves and generally seeks ways to do evil and all the while says to himself that God will not see or do anything about his lifestyle. In these latter verses, the Psalmist is crying for the poor, the helpless, the fatherless and others who are afflicted. He is calling on God to defend their cause. Please notice in verses 16-17 that he speaks with absolute confidence that God is in control, that he does hear their cry and that he will respond with the help and salvation they so desperately need.
Many times in our lives today we do not see the workings of God. We face problems and they seem to get worse instead of better. When troubles come, they too often pile up even more instead of subsiding. So we, like these, begin to ask; “where is God when we need him” and “why does he not hear when we cry to him”?
One answer lies in the way we count time. We impatiently wait on minutes, hours, days, weeks and even years. God does not count time. He is eternal and time has no meaning to him. Another answer lies in what we call good and bad. If it is not pleasurable we call it bad. However, God knows that often these are the very things we need to train us and condition us to become strong and useful in his service. Think of that person who has been such a good example for you to follow. Did you see this in their ease or as they handled the difficult situations in faithfully trusting God?

Lord, please help me to learn to be patient and wait on you, on your deliverance, on your help and your salvation. Strengthen my faith that I might know how to truly trust you with my all. Take away my fear, my anxiety and give me the peace that only comes from your Spirit in my life. Help me to follow the examples of Jesus every day. In His name I pray.

May God bless each of us today as we trust him more.