The Prosperity of the Wicked.

     But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; my steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
                                                              Psalm 73:2-3 NASB  

Read Psalm 73:1-28

     Sometimes it seems that everyone around us is prospering, while we struggle. There are those who seem to live luxuriously, never in need of life's basic necessities, who always appear to succeed at everything they put their hand to. We may feel as if the wicked are prospering in this life in spite of their wickedness, as if God does not see. It can be easy to look at our hardships and struggles in comparison with the ease of the wicked, and say as the Psalmist did, Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, and washed my hands in innocence" (Psalm 73:13 NASB).

     But this Psalm goes on to show us that what may appear to us as an unfair situation is not what it seems to be. While the wicked go on in their prosperity, they are actually in a very slippery place. Their life will not always go on as it has. Just like the rich man whom Jesus described in Luke 12:16-21, life is uncertain. As this man was preparing to retire in his abundance, his life was required of him. Things may go smooth for a season for those who live apart from Christ, but it will always catch up to them one way or another. Ultimately, we will all stand before God someday, and then it will be worth it all to follow Him now. 

     As for the hard times and struggles that so many Christians seem to face, these are for our good (James 1:2-3). The writer of Hebrews encourages us with the fact that God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:5-12). Discipline is not fun to go through, but it is the means by which God keeps us close to Him. Much like a parent who lovingly corrects and disciplines a child to keep that child safe, and to train him to grow up into a godly individual, God also uses trials and testings to keep us from straying after the things of this world. It is better to face discipline, and thereby grow in grace and holiness, than to be allowed to persist in worldliness and sin, and ultimately go lost.
Psalm 73:1-28

     

A coveting spirit.

We live in a society given to instant gratification. Whatever we desire, we obtain. We don't always crave what want, we just go get it. Because of this, we don't consider that we may have a problem with covetousness. Try going without something that you want. Try foregoing a habit. Do you begin to desire that thing? Does it grow into an obsessive desire? We can easily see by this if we have a problem or not. When we do not gratify our desires, we can see how strong they are. To covet, is to be an idolater. It is a very dangerous thing spiritually. We must be on guard at all times, keeping our eyes on Jesus, who is worthy of our worship.

Start the year right!

     This is the time when people make resolutions for the new year. Some will try to kick a bad habit, others will resolve to lose weight, eat healthier, etc. While many of these ideas are good, and even good for us, the one thing that matters most is our walk with God.
     Take a spiritual inventory, Paul said to examine yourselves and see if you are in the faith (2Cor 13:5). Our love for God can be weakened by the things of this world. Repent of and cast off anything that the Holy Spirit reveals as coming between you and God. Give God your all, lay all you have and are on the altar for Him to use, not only in the coming year, but for all eternity! Resolve that by the Spirit's help you will love the Lord with all your heart, soul ,mind and strength  and your neighbor as yourself. These are things that if left to ourselves, we would soon fail at. We would grow weary and give up, just like so many others do with their resolutions. However by the grace of God, we can live lives of love that please Him! Let Him be all this year!