How easy it is to feel defeated when I see my efforts to do "right" not being "rewarded" and I see the "prosperity" of those who aren't doing "right". Suffering is bad and since God is good He cannot allow affliction to touch the life of the righteous, RIGHT ???? Not so much..... “Good” somehow gets inseparably intertwined with material prosperity and physical well-being. But if I truly enter into worship I see that the only ultimate good is knowing God. If knowing God is the highest good in this life and in eternity, then I must conclude that whatever draws us away from Him is evil and whatever draws us to Him is good. With this realization my initial thinking is reversed, the suffering I shun is actually a blessing, while the success I seek is really a curse.
Sadly my mentality at times has been bent to think that God’s blessings always come in the form of financial success, material abundance, and physical well-being. We are led to believe that the righteous can claim such things as their rightful possessions. We are also told that when we experience financial setbacks or physical illness it is because we lack the faith to possess what is ours in Christ.
Anyone who wishes to think that God’s people have the right to expect a trouble-free life of ease and prosperity apparently read the Scriptures superficially and have an inadequate grasp of the process God uses to conform us to the image of His Son. This process usually involves suffering.
Oh how I want my hope and trust to be in the promises of God and to being willing to look beyond the grave for its fulfillment. I don't want worldliness to devastate my efforts to witness. I don't want to get caught up in desiring what the wicked have and loose sight of wanting them to have what I have, hope and freedom in Christ. Only when I view life in light of eternity can I be a fervent witness. Their prosperity is fleeting and their destruction is sure. They may have some passing pleasures, but they do not have the blessing of knowing God and having intimate fellowship with Him.
I want to live with a mentality for the Kingdom. God is good and faithful. Life on earth is fleeting. I want to praise God for all that He is and for all that He does, even when He brings suffering into my life. I want to live a life of worship so that my perspective can continually be renewed and I can become strengthened to live in a world of suffering, praising God, obeying His Word, and looking ahead to the fulfillment of all His promises.
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. 5 They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. 6 Therefore prideis their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. 7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. 8 They scoff, and speak with malice; in their 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. 11 They say, "How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?" 12 This is what the wicked are like-- always carefree, they increase in wealth. 13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. 14 All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. 15 If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed your children. 16 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me 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 As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O 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.
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