LISTEN TO THE DEVOTIONAL
It’s easy to look at wicked people who seem to have everything and wonder if doing what’s right is even worth it.
An ancient poet and musician named Asaph felt exactly that. Asaph wrote Psalm 73, a song in the Bible. He looked at the lives of the wicked and asked, “Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? … For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness” (Psalm 73:13, 73:3). Asaph was so shaken, he nearly walked away from God altogether.
History has never run short of evil people who look like they’re getting away with it. Nicolae Ceaușescu ruled Romania for over two decades. While his people waited in long lines for bread, he built himself a palace of over a thousand rooms, filled with marble and gold. Ceaușescu was convinced the people loved him. On Christmas Day 1989, he was arrested and executed by firing squad before the day ended. The man who had seemed untouchable was gone.
But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do. Psalm 73:28
But Asaph had already seen this coming, long before Ceaușescu was born.
Asaph compared and complained. Then he turned to God. Asaph said, “ … I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked. Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction. In an instant they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors” (Psalm 73:17-19).
With his eyes on God, Asaph came to this conclusion: “… how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter” (Psalm 73:28a). If you’re in a season where the wicked seem to be winning, read Psalm 73. It was written for moments like this.
