Psalm 73
Psalm 73
Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.
They are free from common human burdens;
they are not plagued by human ills.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
their evil imaginations have no limits.
They scoff, and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression.
Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.
They say, “How would God know?
Does the Most High know anything?”
This is what the wicked are like—
always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.
All day long I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments.
If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.
Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!
They are like a dream when one awakes;
when you arise, Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.
When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
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.
So much injustice surrounds us. We are faced with inequality everywhere.
As a believer it can be so overwhelming. For me personally, I worry about speaking out and saying the wrong thing. I worry that what I say will do more harm...and I am so sick of harm coming to those who do nothing to deserve it.
Everywhere I look, I see people taking advantage of others. I see injustice prospering. I see people oppressing other people because of their race, their sex, and their beliefs. I see people more concerned with the economy than people's well being and safety. I see people jumping to conclusions about a person solely based on the color of their skin.
Oppression abounds everywhere I look. It is overwhelming and disheartening.
But as believers we have a sacred responsibility. We must trust that God is our strength and portion. We must share His love and strength with the world. We must tell of His deeds and free this world from the oppression and inequalities surrounding us.
We must love. We must love in His Name.
We know that God is Love. We know that His love has the power to transform lives and change the world. In the face of so much injustice - we must seek love first. We must seek to love as Jesus does. We must seek to shine a light on the injustices happening around us and show the world a better way - we must show the world His Way of Love.
It starts with us. It starts with our restored hearts in the Name of Love. When we seek change and seek to love others as He loved us, we transform the world.
When we shine the light on injustice, we must also illuminate the world in His love.
We know the abundant love of God. We know the healing power of Jesus. We have to share this with others. We need to love others as He first loved us. We must be a Light to this broken world.
We must stand firm in the strength of Christ and stand up for those being oppressed.
We must shout His Love to the world and show this world how to Love.
Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.
They are free from common human burdens;
they are not plagued by human ills.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
their evil imaginations have no limits.
They scoff, and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression.
Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.
They say, “How would God know?
Does the Most High know anything?”
This is what the wicked are like—
always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.
All day long I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments.
If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.
Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!
They are like a dream when one awakes;
when you arise, Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.
When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
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.
So much injustice surrounds us. We are faced with inequality everywhere.
As a believer it can be so overwhelming. For me personally, I worry about speaking out and saying the wrong thing. I worry that what I say will do more harm...and I am so sick of harm coming to those who do nothing to deserve it.
Everywhere I look, I see people taking advantage of others. I see injustice prospering. I see people oppressing other people because of their race, their sex, and their beliefs. I see people more concerned with the economy than people's well being and safety. I see people jumping to conclusions about a person solely based on the color of their skin.
Oppression abounds everywhere I look. It is overwhelming and disheartening.
But as believers we have a sacred responsibility. We must trust that God is our strength and portion. We must share His love and strength with the world. We must tell of His deeds and free this world from the oppression and inequalities surrounding us.
We must love. We must love in His Name.
We know that God is Love. We know that His love has the power to transform lives and change the world. In the face of so much injustice - we must seek love first. We must seek to love as Jesus does. We must seek to shine a light on the injustices happening around us and show the world a better way - we must show the world His Way of Love.
It starts with us. It starts with our restored hearts in the Name of Love. When we seek change and seek to love others as He loved us, we transform the world.
When we shine the light on injustice, we must also illuminate the world in His love.
We know the abundant love of God. We know the healing power of Jesus. We have to share this with others. We need to love others as He first loved us. We must be a Light to this broken world.
We must stand firm in the strength of Christ and stand up for those being oppressed.
We must shout His Love to the world and show this world how to Love.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.1 John 4:7-11
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