Psalm 82:3-4 “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
Proverbs 31:8-9 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Proverbs 14:31 “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.”
Dogs, like people, are often brave when they think they are safe. Little dogs act like they want to tear into a big dog, as long as they are at the end of a leash, behind a fence, behind a screen door or if their owner is around. They act this way because these things, and people, keep them safe. The same is so with many people in the world now-a-days. They say and do rude, or mean things, because they feel safe that the person they are treating meanly will not hurt them. They think they will suffer no consequences. Truly these people, like weak dogs, are not brave at all, in fact they are contrariwise.
Most of all people, talk “bravely” against a God (who allows them to do so) because they are not aware of His presence. But a time comes for all to be before the Lord Almighty and then they will fall prostrate before Him and quake. Cowardly dogs and cowardly people can put on a big show, but bravery shows when courage is needed. Cowards oppress the kind and the weak, but the brave rise to defend. Those who take advantage of those who will not, or cannot fight back are craven. The brave are protectors of those who would be oppressed. And that is who the people of God should be. We should be, like God, a rescuer and kind in all ways to those who need it and will receive it, and He seems them from afar. (Psalm 138:6) We should cry with the broken, hurt with the hurting, love all, and always stand strong with anyone when that is what is needed. We have all been, at some time, the broken, the hurting, the one who feels unloved, and the one who needs a strong friend at times. (Romans 5:6 “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”)
We can never be God, but we can walk with Him and He will rub off on us. (Ephesians 5:1-2) We can be an everyday hero. Maybe not someone spectacular to the world, but definitely spectacular to those we come alongside. We can be simultaneously big enough and small enough to be like our God, and to make Him smile and proud of us. We all have been needy. Some among us God has, like He did with Job, bragged about. When we are with Him, He will let it be known. He sees, He loves, He protects, He provides and He heals. He always has, He does, and He always will because that is just who He is. He is strong for those in need. Let’s today be more like our Father than yesterday, and let’s grow in that.
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”