Psalm 10:10-13. The hapless is crushed by the wicked, he falls and sinks by the wicked's might. He thinks "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it." The psalmist asks God to "Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thy hand; forget not the afflicted." He asks why do the wicked renounce God and say to themselves that God will not call them to account?

I'm struck by the word "crushed" here because I have used that word frequently to describe the way I have been feeling throughout these last few years. Just absolutely crushed. By the wicked, yes - it is their policies and their deceptions that have brought the world, including the innocent and the hapless, to a place of real, intense suffering. But I have also felt crushed by what is happening in general; by the reaction of the innocent and the hapless. By how easily many have allowed themselves to be deceived and to take up the fight on behalf of the wicked against their friends and even their families. It was shocking and heartbreaking to me.

During these times of feeling crushed, though, I have tried to think of Isaiah's image of myself as clay in the hands of God as the potter. I remember the description of the clay being crushed back down in order to be reworked without fault. In that sense, my suffering is a blessing, it is necessary for my salvation. I should accept it with acquiescence and let Him reshape me into what He wants me to be.

I think this is happening to all of us right now. We are each suffering and being tested in our own way. God is reshaping us, and we will all be so much better for it. Those who do not allow themselves to be reshapen, that is, the truly wicked as opposed to just the hapless, will receive justice. At some point they will be crushed and will not be reshapen.