PSALM 10 – WHERE IS GOD WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?

When we see the news at night we see examples of the innocent suffering: Companies take advantage of people in order to make a profit. Governments oppress their citizens so that a few can have what they want. Christians are persecuted for their faith. Individuals kill their unborn babies for the sake of their own selfish lifestyles. We feel righteous indignation at the success of the wicked in this world and often can wonder where is God? The Psalmist in Psalm 10 feels the same that you do. He asks God, “Why do you stand off...why do you hide yourself...”(1). 

The psalmist describes the wicked as arrogant and boasting, spurning the LORD and acting as if there is no God (10:3-4). The wicked prosper and are without a care in the world (10:6).
They utter curses and are constantly full of deceit and oppress the weak. They lie and wait and scheme for those that are helpless (10:8). The wicked are so sure of themselves they even say that God has forgotten the plight of His people and has not even seen their mischief (10:11). 

What is the answer to the question “where is God?” The psalmist says that God knows the thoughts of the wicked (10:11,13) and has seen (10:14) and heard (10:17) their evil and the cries of the innocent. Be heartened and know that God does hear the cries of the innocent in their circumstances (10:17). He will vindicate the oppressed and execute judgement upon the wicked of this world (10:18).