Getting to the Root of the Matter!
Sometimes you come to a passage in scripture that you were not even looking for and it answers a lot of your questions. Such was the case as I read devotions this morning. In reading Psalm 73 in another version, some things became very clear to me:
So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.
But what a difficult task it is!
17 Then I went into your sanctuary, O God,
and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.Psalm 73"16-17 (NLT)
I confess that I have more than once wondered why some people seem to have all the good fortune. Like the Psalmist, when I would go "into (the) sanctuary" and really get in communion with God, then my attitude would change. It wasn’t even so much as recognizing the destiny of the wicked, it was realizing that in spite of myself God had redeemed me for a better eternal future.
As I continued reading however, I came across this verse and it set me straight:
Then I realized that my heart was bitter,
and I was all torn up inside.
22 I was so foolish and ignorant—
I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
23 Yet I still belong to you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
leading me to a glorious destiny.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
I desire you more than anything on earth.
26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
he is mine forever. Psalm 73:21-22nd 6 (NLT)
In these verses I found my answers. Every time my heart grew envious, at the root of it was a bitterness that came from feeling I was deserving of so much more than the hand I was dealt. What would make me feel that I was entitled to such that I would dare to get angry with God when it was not realized? Getting to the root of our discontent is essential if we are ever going to have a grateful heart. Confessing like the psalmist how foolish and ignorant we are of all of God’s goodness is the next step to living a healthy and whole life while here on earth. For when all is said and done, when we belong to God, when we begin to walk in the destiny that He has prescribed for us, when we are conscious of the eternal plan of destiny and glory He has for us, and when we remember that no matter what good or bad, health or weakness, God IS, "the strength of my heart and He is mine forever". You can’t do better than that! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Maria