I life unfair?

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.—Psalm 73:2-3

Sometimes life seems unfair. Sometimes you look around and wonder why some families experience one hardship after another while other families prosper.

Why is it that so many of us have everything we need while others have less than nothing?

Why is it that some people who care nothing about God live in luxury, while millions of people dedicated to the Lord are persecuted?

These are the very questions that torment the writer of Psalm 73. He did not understand: “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.”

He’s not alone. Many Christians wrestle with that issue. A wife standing next to the casket of her husband whispered to me, “This is not right.”

So many things in life don’t seem right or fair. That’s why we need to keep our eyes on the Lord.

It was only when the psalmist focused on the Lord and came into God’s presence that he began to understand. He did not find an answer to his questions. But he found peace in knowing that our lives are in the hands of the loving God who has become our Father through Jesus Christ. When life seems unfair, be sure to come into his presence.

Prayer:

Lord God, be close to all who struggle with hard questions today. Draw them into your presence. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Bragging about God.

Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.—Psalm 66:16

One of the thing that always amazes me is that we will brag about losing weight, our kids, our family, or education, etc. But when it comes to God, it’s rare to hear people out there just bragging about Him like they do other things. I’m not sure if it’s because we just assume that eveyone knows, or some people might even be a little bit embarrased about talking to others about Him. It may even be the fact that we fail to give God the credit for the good things that happen in our lives. Either way, it’s extremely important that we become a living testimony to what God ha done in our lives. We need to be bragging about Hi daily just lie the events happened an hour ago.

The writer of Psalm 66 also wants to tell his story when he says, “Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.” The psalmist does not want to talk about his accomplishments or achievements. He wants to talk about what God has done for him throughout his life. His life had not been easy. He had been tested and refined like silver. He had experienced many burdens. But through it all God had been with him and had led him to “a place of abundance.”

Each of us has a story to tell. All of us can testify to hardships in our lives—but also to the fact that God has always been there.

Make sure you tell your story. Make sure you tell about God’s presence in your life and about his amazing grace in the midst of trials. Tell it to your children and grandchildren.

Someone once said to me, “If something were to happen to my dad, I would not know anything about his relationship to God.” Don’t let that happen to you. Start writing or telling your story today!