Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
This Psalm was written by Asaph, not David. Several of the Psalms are attributed to him. He was in the Levite priesthood, assigned to the Tabernacle worship . Early in the Psalm he has written, “But as for me ,my feet have almost stumbled :My feet have nearly slipped” (Psalm 73.2). He was envious of those who were wicked and yet prospered, and in his envy he had stumbled. (Psalm 73.3).
Asaph was aware of his weakness; he did not understand why God was
not punishing the wicked but allowed them to be at ease and see increase in their riches and prestige (Psalm 73.12). Why were these who are living in sin getting away with it?
He realizes later in the Psalm that God who is righteous will deal with those who are enjoying the ill found riches of the world. (Psalm 73.17-19)
We may not even know it, but there may be times when we become envious. We can look back and wonder why did we have these thoughts of envy. Each one of us is unique in the eyes of the Lord. We are given different talents and abilities. He locates us where He wants us. It is our work for Him to use our talents and abilities for Him
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Asaph recognizes his envy as a sin in himself and he almost stumbled and slipped!
How do we keep from being envious of others ? In the closing verse of this Psalm Asaph has the answer. Psalm 73.28 “But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God…”. What better conclusion could he have had?
How do we draw near to God? We draw near in prayer for those around us; we draw near in the study of His word. We draw near to Him by realizing the relationship we have in Him. We are His child, and we have an eternal hope in Him!
James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” Lord keep us being from being envious, and draw us near to You. Just a thought for morning.
Carl
