One of my favorite Psalms is the Psalms 37. In this passage of scripture The Lord says, “Do not worry about the wicked, or envy those who do wrong. (2) For like grass they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, the soon wither.”
When my husband first left my family I expected God to reign down judgement on him. He had left me for his boss, who was a woman which had traveled down paths which were not righteous.
I expected God to bring financial calamity into their lives. One problem with that was that God did not do that. It seemed as if He was blessing them and cursing me.
They purchased a nice home in a good part of town and even had a swimming pool in their back yard. I was angry, bitter and envious. It ate me up inside.
I told my God in no uncertain terms what I thought of the deal. God’s response was not to deal with them but to deal with me. In the still of the night, I heard the Spirit of God speak to me. The Holy Spirit said, “You need to stop looking at what they have and start looking at what I have done for you.”
What had God done for me?
He hadn’t given me a house with a pool but He had provided a house that was without a mortgage. He also provided a job where I could work 32 hours within two days so that I could be with my children during the week. He had blessed me with three children who were healthy and a delight for me to mother. He allowed me to be born in a country where I had the freedom to worship Him and declare my love for Him. He placed me in a neighborhood where my children had other children their age and they played for hours together. He protected my children from predators which had evil intentions for my children. He gave me the wisdom to budget my finances so that I could meet my financial obligations on my meager income. He gave me good health so that I could work almost a full work week in two days and on very little sleep, take care of three young children during the week.
After hearing the Holy Spirit’s counsel my heart was freed from the envy which had ensnared it.
The wisdom of this passage came to light about a year after my ex-husband divorced his second wife. One of the difficulties which she had struggled with was an addiction to alcohol. She ended up drinking too much one night and died.
It may surprise you that hearing of her death at this point in time brought me great sadness. She had chosen to walk down paths which were wicked and “like grass she soon faded away.”
Truly those who live a righteous life may not be rewarded in this life, according to worldly standards, but in the light of eternity we will be rewarded in heaven. I would take eternity with God over a house with a swimming pool any day.
