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November 22: How long?
Psalms 74:1-19:
O God, why have You cast us off forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, the tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed— this Mount Zion where You have dwelt. Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations. The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary. Your enemies roar in the midst of Your meeting place; they set up their banners for signs. They seem like men who lift up axes among the thick trees. And now they break down its carved work, all at once, with axes and hammers. They have set fire to Your sanctuary; they have defiled the dwelling place of Your name to the ground. They said in their hearts, “Let us destroy them altogether.” They have burned up all the meeting places of God in the land. We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet; nor is there any among us who knows how long. O God, how long will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever? Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? Take it out of Your bosom and destroy them. For God is my King from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters. You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces, and gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness. You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up mighty rivers. The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have prepared the light and the sun. You have set all the borders of the earth; You have made summer and winter. Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O Lord, and that a foolish people has blasphemed Your name. Oh, do not deliver the life of Your turtledove to the wild beast! Do not forget the life of Your poor forever.


These verses are a very intimate prayer at a very difficult time for the people of Israel. This psalm seems to describe the time when Israel was invaded by their enemies that burned and destroyed the temple of the Lord, looted the people, and took many captive. Possibly it was the Assyrians or the Babylonians. What we do know is that the psalmist, in his prayer, tried to call God's attention to have mercy on them, remembering how God chose them from ancient times, calling them His chosen ones, His people.
The psalmist claims the Lord by supplicating Him with this phrase: "How long". I think this is a phrase that many of us do before God: How long? How long will I be in this situation? My child that I don't see in Your presence? How long is my husband's behavior? The relationship with my wife? And the endless questions of "how long".

But in that cry of despair, the psalmist also made a declaration of faith and trust in the Lord, affirming that God is still his King, his Savior. He still recognized Him as the Almighty and Sovereign. He recognized Him as the Creator of all this majestic world, of everything that exists on earth and sea, and who dominates ferocious animals and beasts. All of this to indicate that the psalmist still fully trusted God and knew that God was in control of all these circumstances. God allows us to go through different stages of life, different seasons, as well as rain and drought, such as winter and summer. Days of light and darkness. He is behind all this.

Israel was suffering the consequences of their actions. God warned them many times that they don't stop following His statutes but they abandoned and neglected the Word of God. On some occasions they were tested to see if they trusted the Lord even though they were behaving well. Many times God brought to light many injustices that were covered up through trials; in others, He corrected His children because He loved them and made their ways straight. Many times God allowed the enemy to surround them so that they would not forget that...