Psalm 73 - Day 73 - Book III

A psalm of Asaph.

¹ Surely God is good to Israel,
   to those who are pure in heart.

² But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
   I had nearly lost my foothold.
³ For I envied the arrogant
   when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴ They have no struggles;
   their bodies are healthy and strong.^[a]
5 They are free from common human burdens;
   they are not plagued by human ills.
⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace;
   they clothe themselves with violence.
⁷ From their callous hearts comes iniquity^[b];
   the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.
⁸ They scoff, and speak with malice;
   with arrogance they threaten oppression.
⁹ Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
   and their tongues take possession of the earth.
¹⁰ Therefore their people turn to them
   and drink up waters in abundance.^[c]
11 They say, “How would God know?
   Does the Most High know anything?”

¹² This is what the wicked are like—
   always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

¹³ Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
   and have washed my hands in innocence.
¹⁴ All day long I have been afflicted,
   and every morning brings new punishments.

¹⁵ If I had spoken out like that,
   I would have betrayed your children.
¹⁶ When I tried to understand all this,
   it troubled me deeply
¹⁷ till I entered the sanctuary of God;
   then I understood their final destiny.

¹⁸ Surely you place them on slippery ground;
   you cast them down to ruin.
¹⁹ How suddenly are they destroyed,
   completely swept away by terrors!
²⁰ They are like a dream when one awakes;
   when you arise, Lord,
   you will despise them as fantasies.

²¹ When my heart was grieved
   and my spirit embittered,
²² I was senseless and ignorant;
   I was a brute beast before you.

²³ Yet I am always with you;
   you hold me by my right hand.
²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
   and afterward you will take me into glory.
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
   And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
   but God is the strength of my heart
   and my portion forever.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;
   you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.
   I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
   I will tell of all your deeds.

Sometimes it is hard to see people who seem all put together. There is not one obsticle in their way. Things come so easy to them and there are no struggles. Their life is perfect. When we think like this, it takes energy away from God. Time away from what we could be spending with God and His righteousness. These people do NOT have it all even if it seems this way. They struggle with something we don't, a deep connection with God. And I'm not talking about Christians who seem to have it all, believe me, I know they all struggle. I'm talking about people who don't know Christ who "get to party and do whatever they want without a care in the world." They, I'm sure, feel like something is missing deep inside. Even if they try to mask it with parties and good times. How do I know this? Because God created us to long for Him! I pray that we as Christians help bring light to what seems to be their already lite path. A true light that will never dim. Not in a forceful way or a way that seems like what they are doing it wrong. Christians have received such a bad image of "forcing our faith" on people that I would like for us to chage that. We need to not judge and just be their friends. We don't have to agree with what they are doing, but don't condem them for it either. God is good and He will take care of the things He needs to take care of. Don't judge and think others have it so much easier than you because I'm sure they are struggling with things you had no idea about, maybe even harder than you can imagine.