SPIRITUAL VERTIGO AND OUR NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE WORD OF GOD

When we look at our neighbors and co-workers, we observe that many of them seem to have life all together. They seem to be happier and even more blessed than we are. We find this confusing and often wonder it the promises of God had failed us. This perplexity had even plagued the Psalmists (Psalm 37, 73) who had observed the unrighteous doing far better than the people of God. They even had wrongly concluded that they had served God for naught:

·       For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked…All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence…But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, (Psalm 73:3,13, 16)

Appearances can be deceiving. Many are expert in hiding the truth of their torments, even from themselves. This might not be hard for them to do, since our God genuinely blesses them in this life:

·       For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. (Psalm 73:4-5)

However, their blessings end with this life:

·       Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! (Psalm 73:18-19)

However, our blessings carry us through the curtain into our eternal home, where we will hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.” This understanding of God’s plan had healed the Psalmist of his vertigo:

·       When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:21-26)

When we fail to bear in mind our eternal hope, we will become consumed with spiritual vertigo, envy, and even bitterness towards our Savior.