Wednesday Reading: Psalm 73:1-14
Key Verse: 2Psalm 73:3
3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Devotion:
One of the biggest arguments that many have about religion and belief in God is that the people who seem to be the most successful in life are not the people who we associate with religion or with God. We should never lift these people up instead of God because they are not working for God but for themselves. When we read through these first verses in this Psalm we work out very quickly that the writer is himself tempted to side with the wealthy and prosperous people rather than God’s people.
Instead of falling to that temptation he realises that it is simply God’s will, or the goodness and grace of God that has allowed those people to be able to prosper and do well. We do not know what God has in store for them at a later date because that future is hidden from us at this time. We can know that they will have to face Christ when their time is come and we can know that Christ will judge them according to their own works and not against what we thought should happen.
What we should focus on instead of the prosperity or righteousness of others is where our faith in our God lies instead. Do we believe that God is going to deliver us from our debt that we owe because of our sinful past? Do we believe that God is merciful to forgive us? Do we have faith that God will do what He has promised us? You see, it is not all about what we think of others and what we think they should be doing, but it is about what we have done and what we do with God ourselves. We should be concerned about our own life with God and not others lives; but conversely we should not ignore all that others do and expect them to find things out for themselves. We know God’s Word and we know His truth. We need to take that Word and that Truth with us so that we can allow others to know what is in store for them. If we are not going to tell them, then who will? Just because they look like they are having fun and we are not should not restrict us from allowing them to know God’s grace and the truth. Just because they look like they are better off than us does not mean we should withhold what we know as the truth from them. God loves us all and not just the good ones!
Points to Ponder:
What do you think you deserve?
What does God say you deserve?