Many Christians believe that becoming a child of God makes life easier for us. Then we are troubled when things become worse. We are even more troubled when we see that the ungodly around us are often enjoying life to the full. This is the very problem that is presented to us in Psalm 73.
What was bothering the psalmist was the apparent contradiction between what he had been taught—that God was good to the upright and pure in heart—and his experience in life. He was envious of the arrogant and disturbed by the prosperity of the wicked. Their prosperity seemed to be a direct contradiction to what he had been taught about God.
This troubled him so terribly that it created a deep resentment in his heart. He found himself threatened with a complete loss of faith. His feet had almost slipped, he had almost stumbled, he was almost ready to renounce his faith.
Many Christians are swayed by the seeming logic of those who either reject God or live their lives without giving proper acknowledgment of God: “How can your God be both a God of love and power? If God is powerful, as you Christians say, then God can’t be a God of love, or God would do something to correct injustices.” As we go through our various struggles, we are often tremendously affected by the apparent success of the ungodly.
For the Psalmist, resolution came when he remembered and relied on the presence of the Lord as being more important than the temporary pleasures of this life: “When I was beleaguered and bitter, totally consumed by envy, I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox in Your very presence. I’m still in Your presence, but You’ve taken my hand. You wisely and tenderly lead me, and then You bless me (verses 21-24).” That same resolution is available to us.
God does not wince at our hard questions and weak faith. We must learn to be honest with Him and expose ourselves to the probing of the Holy Spirit.
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