My companion attacks his friends;
he violates his covenant.
His talk is smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn swords.
Cast your cares on the Lord
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken.
But you, God, will bring down the wicked
into the pit of decay;
the bloodthirsty and deceitful
will not live out half their days.
But as for me, I trust in you.
Psalm 55:20-23
Franklin Delano Roosevelt called it “the day that will live in infamy.” The Japanese, while appearing to negotiate, actually planned a surprise attack on December 7th. Their words did not match their actions. The psalmist complains of a similar situation in Psalm 55. His companion’s words are “more soothing than oil;” however, they are “drawn swords” as well.
What the Japanese did on December 7th was wrong, but some of our nation’s actions during that time period also live in infamy—the Japanese internment camps as one example. In our anger, we punished innocent people. Similar situations existed after 9/11. People attacked Muslim Americans despite their lack of guilt. Today Asian Americans are persecuted for Covid-19. We so easily hurt others when we hurt.
I think this is part of the reason the psalmist advises us to cast our cares on the Lord, to let him bring down the wicked. We cannot see or think straight when we are angry. Sometimes our punishment is worse than the offense. At the same time, we should not just stuff our anger. We must bring our anger and fear to the Lord. We can do that in silent prayer, speaking out loud, or writing in a journal.
If you are hurting right now, take it to the Lord. Scream, yell and give it to him. Write down your grievances and then burn them as an act of surrender. Trust him. He will sustain you.
Dear God,
I am so angry God. I know that I may not be seeing the situation clearly. May your justice be done, O Lord. Help me to cast my cares on you.
Amen