PSALMS 73

If you haven’t had your devotions this morning, grab a cup of coffee and take a little time to consider these verses.  I’m sure I’m not the only one that has felt this or feels this way today.  If you allow God to speak to you through these verses, you will go through this day with a lighter heart and a joyful soul.

My thoughts this morning as I read Psalms 73….

Verse 1 “Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart.”

So much truth contained in this small verse.  Our HEAD tells us “God is Good” but sometimes our HEART says “I’ve done everything I know to do; I have tried to do everything “right” but it isn’t “good” for me right now.

The next set of verses tells it like I really see it:

² But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
My steps had nearly slipped.
³ For I was envious of the boastful,
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴ For there are no pangs in their death,
But their strength is firm.
⁵ They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like other men.
⁶ Therefore pride serves as their necklace;
Violence covers them like a garment.
⁷ Their eyes bulge with abundance;
They have more than heart could wish.

⁸ They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;
They speak loftily.
⁹ They set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue walks through the earth.

I lift my eyes from my struggles and I see wickedness all around me, but they never struggle.  They strut around doing whatever pleases them, their followers hang onto every ungodly word they utter and they never have to answer for their evil actions. They have all the stuff I’ve ever dreamed of and even in DEATH they seem to not feel pain.

¹⁰ Therefore his people return here,
And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
¹¹ And they say, “How does God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
¹² Behold, these are the ungodly,
Who are always at ease;
They increase in riches.
¹³ Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain,
And washed my hands in innocence.
¹⁴ For all day long I have been plagued,
And chastened every morning.

¹⁵ If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
¹⁶ When I thought how to understand this,
It was too painful for me—

Not only do they partake of every ungodly act possible, but they come against the ones trying to live righteously.  They take our businesses and our freedoms, then ridicule our faith and no one seems to care.  Sometimes I wonder, “IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?”  God, I just can’t wrap my mind around all of this….LIFE ISN’T FAIR!!!

¹⁷ Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their end.

Then I enter the “sanctuary;” my little secret place in the presence of God.  His peace floods my soul and His light illuminates my world.  He wraps His arms around me and whispers His everlasting love to my heart.  Skipping to verse 23, my prayer changes and joy fills my heart.

²³ Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
²⁴ You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.

²⁵ WHOM HAVE I IN HEAVEN BUT YOU?
AND THERE IS NONE UPON EARTH THAT I DESIRE BESIDES YOU.
²⁶ My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

²⁷ For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.
²⁸ But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
That I may declare all Your works.

MADE UP MIND

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

The BRAIN is the wonderful, complex organ in the human body. It is the “Central Command Center” of all decisions, actions and even determines our personality.  When the alarm clock sounded this morning, an electrical impulse was stimulated in your brain that was sent to your eyelids and they opened.  Isn’t that awesome…think about it!

Our MIND is the part of the BRAIN over which we have control.  We cannot always control what the eye or ear transfers to the brain but our MIND can control what we do with the information and the actions that follow.  The devil DIDN’T make you do it, you decided that action in your MIND and followed through.

As I start on week 10 of my journey toward good health, I am amazed; it has become perfectly clear what a MADE-UP MIND can accomplish.  Once your mind conquers all the obstacles of desire that have built up over the years, that which seems impossible becomes a reality.  It really is, ALL IN YOUR MIND!

James 1:8 He is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways.

God, who created your BRAIN, gave you the free-will, which is your MIND, totally understands the power for good or evil that you possess. If you decide to “straddle the fence of life” you will end up with unfulfilled dreams, wasted gifts and a frustrated existence…an UNSTABLE human being.

MAKE UP YOUR MIND; begin with the first commandment,

Mark 12:30  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

This is the first commandment. And when life comes to its final stage, you can say,

Isaiah 50:7 “For the Lord God will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set MY FACE LIKE A FLINT and I know that I will not be ashamed.”