STANDING IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY AND DISCOURAGEMENT

The Psalmists have often lamented that the wicked flourish and the righteous suffer; those who follow the Lord are chastened, while those who arrogantly reject Him prosper (Psalm 73; 37). Job also had observed this:

·       Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power? Their offspring are established in their presence, and their descendants before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon them. Their bull breeds without fail; their cow calves and does not miscarry. (Job 21:7-10 (ESV)

This is a particularly difficult pill for the righteous to swallow because it is we who have been promised great blessings for committing ourselves to the Lord (Psalm 23). It makes us feel as if something had gone wrong.

However, the Lord had also granted His servants a view of the big picture:

·       The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever. (Psalm 92:6-7)

God blesses His creation, even those who have turned against Him. However, their blessing is only a temporary one. The Psalmist Asaph had admitted that he had been angry with the Lord, when he saw the arrogant flourishing, and confessed:

·       When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. (Psalm 73:21-22)

God had also revealed the big picture to Asaph:

·       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 73:25-26)

Armed with this understanding, Asaph proclaimed:

·       But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. (Psalm 73:28)

In light of God’s promise of eternity, Asaph had begun to realize how blessed he really was. Whereas he had been furious with God, now he was satisfied and determined to tell others of all of His Savior’s good works.

It is amazing how our perspective can change once we embrace the revelation that we are eternally blessed. For now, we must pass through the valley of the “Shadow of Death.” But we have come to perceive the light at the end of the tunnel where overwhelming blessings await:

·       You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:5-6)

With “forever” in view, our valleys of fear and death can also be regarded as a preparation for our final ascent. This is why Scripture warns us that judgment begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17) and it will be painful (Hebrews 12:11). It is this very hope that had enabled the Psalmist to conclude:

·       They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. (Psalm 92:13-15)

It is only as we grasp ahold of this hope that we will be fruitful.