Fixing What I Can

 December 9, 2020

There is a trap of the Enemy into which we are all too prone to fall. It is so insidious and subtle that most of the time we don’t even realize we’ve been caught until we are so ensnared that like a fly caught in a spider’s web, we cannot break free. It begins innocently enough; we look around us and see depravity, evil, and corruption, and are properly offended by it. Whether it be crooked politicians, greedy corporations, or individuals in headlong pursuit of illicit pleasure or gain, we look and are heartbroken by it all. In our prayers, we plead for justice, for the wicked to be judged and the innocent to be vindicated. So far, so good.

The problem arises when we fail to move beyond this sense of righteous indignation. Yesterday I was reading Psalm 7; it captured my mood perfectly.

“Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; 

Lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies; 

Rise up for me to the judgment You have commanded!

God is a just judge, 

And God is angry with the wicked every day. 

If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; 

He bends His bow and makes it ready. 

He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; 

He makes His arrows into fiery shafts. 

Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity;

Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood.

“He made a pit and dug it out, 

And has fallen into the ditch which he made.”

His trouble shall return upon his own head, 

And his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown.”

—Psalm 7:6, 11-16 NKJV

I read texts like this, and inside I give a fist pump and shout, “YES, Lord! Give it to them!” In so doing, I end up playing God, usurping the prerogatives he reserves unto himself. What’s worse, there is very little I can do about the evil around me. I can’t fix all that’s wrong in this world, but focusing on its problems blinds me to what God wants to do in me.

This morning in our prayer group, we read Psalm 51 to focus our thoughts. David had been exposed as a rapist and murderer; Psalm 51 is is prayer of repentance. Do you see the contrast? I can focus on what I cannot change, or on what I can, but I cannot do both. If I concern myself only with the sins of the world, I’ll neglect those of my own heart—the only place where I have direct control. Lord knows, there is plenty of work to be done there. Unlike so many people today, when David’s sin became known, he didn’t try to wiggle out of it; he didn’t blame someone else or give excuses. He owned up and simply prayed for God to be merciful to him. As I read through the psalm, I noticed all the things he asked God to do for him. Hear his prayer:

Have mercy on me.

Blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly.

Cleanse me.

Purge me.

Wash me.

Make me hear joy and gladness.

Blot out my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart.

Renew a steadfast spirit in me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation.

Uphold me.

Deliver me from guilt.

Open my lips.

Do good.

Build the walls of Jerusalem.

David didn’t play the equalization game; balancing a sin with a good deed. He didn’t compare himself with worse sinners. He confessed his sin and cast himself upon the mercy of God, asking the Lord to do what only he can do.

David got it right, and I would do well to pay attention. If I ask for God to do the same things for me that David asked him to do in his heart, I will have accomplished far more than if I focus on those problems, the sins of others that I cannot fix. So tonight, David’s prayer is mine, too. If God answers, the world will be a better place because my world will be a better place.