Psalm 73

Facebook Post. April 19th, 2020.

There was a time when I had nowhere else to go. Every step I took was a mistake. I envied people who despite having no God were well-off, when I saw how prosperous they've become even as drunkards. They do not suffer, and are always well-fed. They do not have the same problems as common men; their stockrooms are always full. Not only that, but they can afford to be arrogant. To do as they wish and go where they wish.

Their prosperity causes them to commit wrong; their thoughts are always about pleasuring self. They talk down on other people; they can afford to threaten and sue others. They speak as if they can buy what they want, and lay claim to anyone they want. Therefore, they have more than enough food to eat, more than enough friends to drink with, and sometimes, even take what is not theirs.

They say, “What do you mean God sees what I do? Is God even aware of what goes on? And besides, I'm not a religious bigot. God loves everyone. Live and let live. ”

This is what the wicked are like, those who always have it so easy and get higher and richer. So I thought to myself, “I have tried to be good in vain and lived a good lifestyle for nothing. I still have problems all day long, and am troubled every morning.” When I tried to make sense of all this, I cannot wrap my head around it. It was too painful for me.

Until I went into the sanctuary of God, where He broke me. Only then did I understand how the lives of these people I envied will end.

God put them in slippery places; He will pull them down to sure ruin. In a moment what they fear most will come upon them, terrifying tragedies become their demise.

My spirit felt bitter, and my insides were turning in on itself painfully. I was such an ignorant fool. How I lacked insight; I was as brutish as a beast before God as I questioned His hand, and compared my life to theirs.

I finally understood that God was continually with me; holding my right hand even at my birth, when my mother tried to kill me. He patiently guided me by His wise advice, and in the end will lead me to a position of honor. So everyone is to fear the LORD. Indeed, those far from Him die; because He destroys everyone who is unmindful of Him. So even in this dust, God’s presence is all I need. They can have the world. God has me.

I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter.
I will declare all the things He has mightily done.

~A paraphrase of Psalm 73, Book iii