Observation: I like the statement, "give place to wrath." The NIV translates it this way: "leave room for God's wrath."
Wrath has its place. Wrath will come. There are things that an all-powerful, all-knowing God is displeased with and He will punish those that commit those things. In other words, sin is a reality and we ought to stop ourselves from doing it.
Justice won't necessarily come when we think it will. Evil will go seemingly unchecked at times. It also may not come to those whom we think it should. And justice is not fully administered until the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:1-15) when God judges and punishes any and all who do not have their sins covered by the blood of Jesus by knowing Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and who have not surrendered their hearts and lives to God sincerely.
Application: This is a tough one considering all the abuses that innocent men, women and children take all over the world. There are atrocities going on daily beyond my understanding. God knows and sees everyone of them. His heart breaks for their pain and his (very frightening) fury burns against those evil doers.
I see every day the unrighteousness of our President, our law-making bodies, our judges, and the evil that is perpetuated all over American society in our love for self and our greed for money and power. We pass these sins down to our children. In the generations after us those sins bear consequences and grow worse and worse... stronger and stronger. We glorify fame and those who have it. We cherish success and accolades. And all of this seems to go unnoticed by God.
But God says that I am to give room for His wrath. Why?
1. I'm going to get it wrong on who deserves His wrath.
2. I'm going to get it wrong on what the proper punishment in full should be.
3. I'm going to get it wrong on how important I am. My life is a vapor and my thoughts are so low and small compared to the One True Judge.
4. I'll fail to be a witness to Jesus. I'll just end up being a witness to the rules and the law, but God has already assigned witnesses to those.
5. I'll find myself a hypocrite at some level. It's better that I love as best as I can, to the fullest, and get the wrath part wrong a bit than the other way around.
This verse does not apply to governing bodies. Paul specifically discusses in the next chapter that he knows the government is there to punish evil. That's what God designed it for. Though again it won't be the full measure of punishment because God is storing His wrath up for that day of judgment.
So I am to pray that the judges will judge righteously. Pray for holy lawmakers. Pray for God-submitted leadership. Pray for rescue from the rule of evil and wicked men and women. Pray for this to happen all over the world! Then let God answer those prayers as He wills.
Prayer: Lord, You are the man! It's Your world. We are Your creatures. I will step aside and not try to counsel You on how to rule what You have created. But I will cry out to You against evil! I will intercede on behalf of those that are abused and oppressed. And I will wait, trusting fully in You to do right. It will all glorify You in the end. I love You. Amen.
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