Today’s Scripture: Psalms 36-41
O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. – Psalm 65:2
Why do the lives of the ungodly often seem better than ours? Well, in the short run, the wicked often seem to prosper. But we must look at life from the perspective of the long run and see that the essence of life and morality boils down to determining the God-given purpose for life, and living accordingly.
I was lifting weights with a young man who was questioning why he should live a life of faith. He had been a Christian for about two years and was growing in his faith, but lately life didn’t seem so good. He had watched his parents come to the verge of divorce, and he was praying hard for them, but God had done nothing to stop their fighting. It seemed like the Lord wasn’t paying any attention to the things that mattered deeply to him. He began to feel, Why live for God if He isn’t interested in me, doesn’t answer my prayers, and nothing seems to be going right? But as he considered what he would go back to if he turned away from the Lord, he had to admit there weren’t any good alternatives. Like Peter, he knew that Christ alone had the words of eternal life.
Although our motives for following the Lord should not be centered on our personal well-being, it is still a part of what God cares about in our lives. The psalmist finally got perspective on the prosperity of the wicked when he considered the brevity of life and the total insecurity of living without God. Why live for God? Psalm 37:37,38 says: “There is a future for the man of peace. But all sinners will be destroyed.”
Prayer
Lord, instruct my mind and heart to keep me from envy when I see prosperity and ease surrounding the ungodly. Amen.
To Ponder
“For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth” (Psalm 37:9 KJV).
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