Psalm Devotional
From Crisis to Confidence
Psalm 11 expresses the psalmist’s journey from crisis to confidence and, finally, to the face of God.
The psalm begins with the psalmist in dire straits. He is under attack from his enemies, and a voice advises him to run to the hills. The voice may be that of his friends, counselors, or his own internal voice of doubt. Regardless of the source, the psalmist is facing the temptation to flee from the crisis before him.
Verse 2 fleshes out the nature of the crisis. The psalmist’s enemies are depicted as warriors who are readying their weapons. They are lurking in the shadows and hope to strike covertly.
The crisis comes to a head in the psalmist’s desperate cry in verse 3, “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (NIV). The psalmist perceives that the foundation of all he has known is crumbling around him. He feels utterly helpless.
Perhaps you are in the midst of a crisis today, or maybe you will find yourself in one tomorrow. Our temptation in the time of crisis is the same as the psalmist’s. We are tempted to seek the easy way out. We are at risk to run to the hills rather than to God. Christians, like others, are susceptible to adopting a “sky is falling” attitude. We see the foundations of our society crumbling around us, and our response to this decay is often to run to the hills of cultural disengagement. The psalmist calls us to a different path.
