Usually, we ask this kind of question, “how then can you say to me?” to a person who has levied some wild accusation against us. It is not a question but an answer to a baseless argument. The aggressive form of this question is “How dare you say that to me”. It conveys the meaning that the other person knows nothing about us. When Jesus prayed to His Father to forgive His killers, He prayed that they do not know what they were doing because they neither know me nor my authority. In a situation like a betrayal, we ask God that how could they do it to us. The simple answer is they did not know that we are His child. Often, we torment ourselves because we fail to remember that we are His children.

Flee Like a Bird

In the LORD I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:
“Flee like a bird to your mountain”.

Psalms 11:1

Worldly people constantly ask us to flee from the situation we face. Running away from the challenges is not a permanent solution for any problem. When people do not understand this, the god of this age (satan) persuades them to end their lives by suicide. Every situation that we face in our lives is allowed by our Creator and monitored by Him unceasingly. When we stick to the pattern of our worldly life, those situations will devour us.

But when we take refuge in Him, we will be able to overcome the challenges of evil with good. Taking refuge appears like fleeing from the prevailing conditions cowardly, but the truth is that we are simply shifting our platform to face the situation. If we continue to stay in our sinful ways, then we might succumb to it. At the same time, if we change our platform by taking refuge in Him, it will be easier for us to overcome the situation. Once we take refuge in Him, we will be bold enough to ask the worldly advisers, “how dare you say this to me?”

The Vigilance

For look, the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.

Psalms 11:2

David looked at the deceptive deeds of the wicked. We have to discern the deceptive spirits and should keep vigil for our souls. Every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God is not from God (1 John 4:2). We do not deny this fact directly, but inadvertently do not expect the outcome of this faith and conveniently agree with the beliefs and doubts of the people who do not know God. Temptations are common for a believer and a non-believer. We are inviting the devil to come into our life by admitting that we suffer just like them. The devil bends his bows and sets his bow disguising it as our non-believer friends, and we often end up telling them that we have problems far greater than theirs. We fail to show them that in all our sufferings, our God sustains us with His faithfulness. Do we realize how often we have committed this blunder when God gave us opportunities to testify His grace that upholds us? The psalmist was on the lookout for the people who spoil the hearts of the upright.

The Foundation

When the foundations are being destroyed,

what can the righteous do?”

The LORD is in his holy temple;

the LORD is on his heavenly throne.

He observes everyone on earth;

his eyes examine them.

Psalms 11:3-4

For a believer, God is faithful, and He will not let him succumb to temptation. Paul wrote to Corinthians that one should build their life carefully on the foundation already laid, that is, on Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10-11). Most people are unaware of this truth and lay other foundations of wealth and status but are unable to withstand the blows of this world and whatever they erected is brought down to rubble.

Natural calamities do not have any specific target, and it affects everyone equally, but the buildings that do not have a proper foundation are knocked down easily. During an earthquake when it appears as if the very ground will be swallowed up, the wicked think that it is the same for the righteous as well, thinking that the foundation is the same for everyone. Some believers have a mix of poor ingredients when building up their foundations but think that their ground is the strongest. They want a win-win situation without knowing that Jesus is the only foundation on which they can build their lives.

The one who understands the facts of the heavenly realm can only know that the Lord is in His Holy temple and is observing everyone as He examines our foundations. God made Elijah understand the ways of men, and Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21)

The Exams

The LORD examines the righteous,
but the wicked, those who love violence,
he hates with a passion. On the wicked he will rain
fiery coals and burning sulfur;
a scorching wind will be their lot.

Psalms 11:5-6

God teaches His love and principles to the one He loves. But, His loved ones misunderstand Him and take everything as a punishment. We should learn to endure hardships as a discipline because that makes us His legitimate children (Hebrews 12:6-8). God deals with the wicked differently whereas we think that Lord is not punishing them. We should understand that God is not chastening them but preparing their hearts for punishment, as they do not deserve the grace that God is pouring upon them.

The Righteous Lord

For the LORD is righteous,
he loves justice;
the upright will see his face.

Psalms 11:7

God created us in His image, and when we lost His character, He redeemed us by punishing His only begotten Son with the death sentence, the punishment that we deserved, and delivered us from the clutches of eternal death. To fulfil His law, righteous God sacrificed the life of His son and brought justice to the masses.

We love to make amendments to laws and regulations because we do not want to make amendments to our lives. God loves justice, and the people who love Him will see His face. God is asking us to preserve His image in us until we meet Him face to face. The devil constantly fools us that we are not made in His image and tries to instil hatred in our hearts by accusing us of losing our privilege of living as children of God. We should frequently be reminding our soul that we are the children of a righteous God who would rather fulfil His judgment on His only begotten Son and spare us from that punishment. How then can satan say anything to us?

God, strengthen us that we preserve your love in our lives and become a deserving people to inherit your Kingdom by your grace.