Jim Peters

Don’t Be Envious of Earthly Success!

Posted on 06. Mar, 2010 by Jim Peters in Hearing God - Jim's Daily D

Psalm 73:10-20

¹⁰ Therefore their[1] people come back here

And they drink their water (until they’re) full,[2]

¹¹ They say, “How does God know?”

And “Does knowledge exist with the Most High (God)?”

¹² Look! These are the wicked people!

They’re always carefree,

And they’ve increased their wealth.

¹³ I have certainly (gained) no benefit by keeping myself clean inside

And by innocently washing my hands.

¹⁴ I have been struck (down sith sickness) all day

And I am punished every morning.

 

¹⁵ If I said, “This is what I’ll say,”

I would have been betrayed a generation of your children.

¹⁶ When I thought (about it, to try) understand this,

It was hard work[3] in my sight,

¹⁷ Until I came to the place set apart for God,

And then I understood their end.

¹⁸ You have certainly put them in a slippery place.

You will throw them down into ruin.

¹⁹ Suddenly, how horrible it will be for them!

They will completely come to an end in terror.

²⁰ Lord, when you wake up, you will despise (what they stand for)[4]

Like waking up from a dream.

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[1] “his” [2] This verse refers to listening to what the wich are saying and lapping it up like water. [3] “trouble/work” [4] “their image”

Application

It’s easy for those who love God to look at wicked people and envy their success and relative ease of life.  The danger is that I start to want what they have and doubt that God’s way is the best way after all.

I can’t know everything, even here on earth, let alone in all creation and for all eternity.  So why would I begin to question God?  Wicked people might appear to be doing OK on the outside and I might feel that, in comparison, I’m not fairing so well.  Firstly, comparisons are always going to get me into trouble.  Secondly God has called me to ALWAYS rejoice and be thankful, regardless of the situation.  I won’t see any lack if I am trusting God.

When I think like the wicked I betray God and I lead others astray, and it’s such a temptation to think that way.  This psalm agrees that it’s hard work if I just look at the natural.  However, when I look from God’s perspective, I see the precarious nature of a life lived without God.  In the blink of an eye, people who don’t know God and who don’t live for him can fall into a lost eternity of eternal punishment.  To God, they are like images from a dream that vanish in the morning when you wake up.

It is much wiser to live for God.

Prayer

Father, please help me to keep my eyes on you and not on other people.  Please guide my paths so that I do what you want and so that I’m not influenced by the actions of others.  Please keep me from temptation to fulfil selfish ambition and compete with others.  But please help me to keep moving forward so that I don’t stagnate in uncertainty, thinking I’m waiting for you to do or say something.  Please guide every step and every thought so that my life honours you.

IJN Amen

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