FBC Morning Light – July 4, 2022

Well, a good Monday morning and a happy 4th of July. I hope you're having a wonderful day today and having an opportunity to perhaps get together with some family, some friends and enjoy the 4th of July holiday.

But especially just to take a few moments and thank the Lord for our country and the freedoms that we have here in the

United States, that we still have anyway. And we do understand the challenges of our day and the lack of appreciation for the principles upon which our nation was founded.

But nevertheless, we still have our freedoms that many in this world don't have. And you have the freedom to sit and listen to something like this and not have to worry about somebody coming and attacking your home or whatever because of it.

So thank the Lord for our freedom to exercise our faith. Well, this morning we're in Psalm 73, a passage

I want to focus on. And the psalmist recognizes that in this life, when we look around and we see those who are prosperous and just don't seem to have a care in the world, we can get rather discouraged and distraught.

In fact, this is what he says in Psalm 73, verses 2 and 3. He said,

As for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the boastful when

I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Did you hear not long ago, there's been a couple of different politicians who've expressed the sentiment regarding these super high gas prices these days, who've expressed the sentiment, well, you know, people should just go out and buy an electric car.

Oh, sure, right. Like the average person can't afford to just go out and buy an electric car at the tune of $50 ,000 to $60 ,000 a pop.

That is absurd. And I'm sure for most of us who are tuned into this today, that's not even a viable option.

And when you hear someone say something like that, it's very easy to respond as the psalmist did, to respond with a sense of despair, with your feet almost stumbling when you see the prosperity of the wicked.

Sure, it's no problem for one of those wealthy politicians to go out and drop $60 ,000 to get an electric car to tool around town and doesn't bother them in the least bit.

But for you and me, you're looking at a loan for years and you don't want. So it's easy then to get very distraught.

And the psalmist goes on to explain a lot of things about what he sees and observes and the wealthy wicked.

They don't seem to have any problems. They have no pangs in their death. They're not in trouble as other men.

They don't have to worry about where their next meal is coming from or how they're going to pay this particular bill and so on and so forth.

He says they scoff and they speak wickedly concerning oppression, they speak loftily, they're proud, they're arrogant, they don't really care about the average person who's living paycheck to paycheck and just trying to squirrel a little bit aside.

So when you and I see that kind of an extravagance, and then we just struggle from day -to -day living to pay our bills and to put food on the table and gas in the car and basic things like that, and then to try to have some opportunity for a little bit of enjoyment in life and find it more and more difficult.

In times like that, it's easy for us to be filled with frustration and envy and almost to feel like, as the psalmist expresses in verses 13 and 14 of Psalm 73, that I'm living a

Christian life in vain. This is what he says. He says, Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocence.

For all day long I've been plagued and chastened every morning. I don't have the luxury and the ease of life that the wealthy have.

You get very despondent. What's the answer? What's the solution? It begins with getting

God's perspective. So he says, he says in verse 15 or verse 16,

When I thought about how to understand this, it was too painful for me until, verse 17, I went to the sanctuary of God.

Then I understood their end. What helped him to grapple with this disparity between the luxurious lifestyle, the seeming apparent ease of life of the wealthy and the struggles of life of the godly, was to get

God's perspective. Then I understood their end, he said. A second crucial key to overcoming this despair, this despondency, and this feeling of futility, is to not only see the end of the wicked, but to see what's true about yourself as one who is in Christ Jesus.

In verses 23 through 26, he talks about what's true about himself, even in his financial struggles, if you will.

He says, I am continually with you, and you hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.

Getting a sense of the end of the arrogant, wicked, who have no need for God, and the end of the righteous, even if they're struggling in this life, is one of the keys, crucial keys, to overcoming any sense of despondency and frustration and discouragement over the day -to -day struggles of life.

May God give us that perspective. So our Father and our God, as we look around our world, we can see the evidence of those who are wealthy, see how they live, and see sometimes their arrogance and their disdain for you and for us, little people.

Lord, I pray you'd give us your perspective. Help us to keep your perspective in mind, not only of their end, but of what's true of us.

And this we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, well have a wonderful Fourth of July, and I trust