5 Days of Devotion
Day Two – Tuesday
Psalm 73
6 They wear pride like a jewelled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty. 7 These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for! 8 They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others. 9 They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth. 10 And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words.
Yesterday we started this weeks devotional from Psalm 73. The Psalmist started out by declaring the goodness of God but as he looked away from God his eyes drifted. Jesus, in the parable of the sower (Mark 4:13), talks about becoming deceived because of placing our eyes on other things. We hear the Word but the message is ‘crowed out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things.’ This shift in our view cuts off the production of God’s Word in our life and no fruit is produced.
In the above passage the writer of Psalm 73 sees the wicked state of the world. His eyes are open to how they succeed, they have everything they want! In our world of connectivity it is easy to see how people live. We observe heavily curated social media feeds and we follow the rich of this world. The world of the ungodly is open to us to view minute by minute with envy that creates within us a heartfelt desire to follow in their footsteps. Recently it has become even easier to wish for what others have. Only a few years ago actors and musicians were the only object of our affection but somewhere in our hearts we knew we weren’t talented enough to pursue what they have.
Now, as I scroll through YouTube, there are hundreds of videos on how to make millions. Instagram continually tells me if ‘I do this with my content’ I will have millions of followers. If I do what they do I will blow up and become an overnight success! I can live like a millionaire and sell my life, content to thousands of people. You and I can now attain what was impossible a few years ago. That yacht you want can be bought if you follow these simple steps…
In this modern world it is very easy to lose our footing and chase what is on offer. If we don’t take the bait and become hooked our emotions can often just look. We stare at what can be achieved with a 100 hour work week. We look at our life and compare the hard work of the unbeliever and realise we don’t measure up! I understand that to truly succeed in life we have to work and that most people don’t work hard enough but we also must understand the calling and anointing on our life. The focus you and I need to walk in, realising that God will talk to you personally about what you need to do.
The Bible is filled with success principles. The leadership of the Holy Spirit inside you is the path that you need to take no matter what you see others doing. If our eyes are on others it becomes easy to be deceived. It becomes easy to remove our faith in God’s Word and become someone who selfishly chases dreams that are attainable but not anointed. Selfishness can attain. Envy can become a powerful motivator and seeing the short term success of those we see in the public spotlight can be our goal.
Let’s shrink it down for a moment. Are you jealous of a family member? Do you look at what other Christians have? Does your time at church become an exercise of comparison? This is as evil as wishing for the riches of the world. This too will destroy you. If I allowed this I personally would become shipwrecked! In our church, every week the young 3 year old Manny out dresses me! This last Sunday he wore white, head to tow. He came dressed in a white suit, red bow tie, wearing white shiny shoes and guess what? He stayed clean!! He was the envy of the room. My kids can’t stay clean dressed fully in black.
Jealousy and envy lead to an unproductive life. Depression and frustration are the next steps once you engage BUT not for you! Today, you take your eyes and place them on the Word of God. You take your eyes and look to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. Your faith is stirred up and hope is once again renewed in your heart! It is time to build some thing great for your life. It is time to follow God’s path and that path is glorious. Your future is bright and it is not based on the success of anyone else. You live in the Word. You live in God’s world and that world is a world full of joy, peace and victory no matter what it looks like. You are a Champion! You are loved!
God is good. He is for you. He is not against you. He never leaves you and He never forsakes you! See you tomorrow!
