Take Comfort in God’s Wrath

Tyler Young

Injustice in the world disturbs us. When we think of how evil men seem to be at ease and good folk struggle and suffer, it troubles our souls. We see the wicked prevail and those that fear God despised and oppressed, and our faith is challenged. When those in power abuse their authority, distort the facts, deceive the public and personally prosper for it, when corrupt men blaspheme God, promote sin, lie against the truth, and escape punishment for their crimes, frustration can overwhelm us. Consider Solomon’s gloomy reflection on this sad state of affairs, “There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness” (Ecc. 7:15); “There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity” (Ecc. 8:14).

Consider this recent example.

On October 13, Touria Tiouli, a Frenchwoman in town on business, stopped at a hotel bar in Dubai for a Coke. When she got up to leave, three men followed her out and offered her, a ride to her hotel. She accepted; they then took her to a different part of town and gang-raped her. Tiouli reported the crime to Dubai police—who…arrested her. Since one of the men acknowledges he did [engage in sexual relations with her], but claims it was consensual, she is considered guilty of both adultery and making a false charge of rape, crimes punishable by up to 18 months in prison. According to the Daily Telegraph, “Mme Tiouli claims that every lawyer she has contacted in Dubai has refused to help her.”

Such tragedies enrage us. They can drive us mad. Where is justice? But David tells us in Psalm 37 not to fret over the works of the wicked:

Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb….Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm….For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; the wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming” (1-2, 7-10, 12-13).

When the wicked seem to prevail, when justices is trampled underfoot, sometimes the only thing that can keep us from losing our minds is knowing that one day God will set things right. Do not fret, for the Lord says, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay” (Rom. 12:9). We pray for our enemies and wish for their repentance that they might find the mercy of God before it is too late. But if they persist in their evil, do not fret. Their, “day is coming.” They will soon be cut down. Take comfort in the wrath of God.