Psalm 73
Jesus taught that life with Him in his kingdom is the best life available. This life is purposeful and eternal. Jesus defines eternal life in John 17:3 as “to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” In John 10:10, Jesus teaches that “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Through Jesus, we have access to the fullest life available in communion with God. It is a beautiful and free gift given to all who decide to receive it.
But let’s be real. This eternal and full life we have is really hard. Living life with Jesus means being convicted and transformed by him. It requires changing the patterns of our life to reflect the patterns of this new life with Christ. I don’t know about you, but there are times where I have begun to envy the people around me who don’t follow Jesus. They indulge in whatever they want, they say whatever they want, and seek power wherever they get it. A life where I can seek my own desires and interests above all else just seems nice sometimes.
I have comfort in this Psalm because David is feeling a lot of the same things. It makes me feel less alone. The worst part for David is that the people who don’t follow the ways of the Lord and seek themselves first seem to be prospering more than him! It looks to David like they “have no struggles,” while David’s life was full of hardship, trial, and waiting on God.
How does David deal with this feeling of envy and bitterness? He chooses to lean all the more into God’s character. We get to make the choice of what we trust in every moment. When we envy the world around us, we get to choose if we want to trust the ways of the world or trust the ways of the Lord. The full and eternal life we have with God is not an easy one, but it is one that leads us to seek first the kingdom of God rather than our own desires. This means doing what Paul wrote about in Philippians 2, where he instructed the Philippian church to “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
If you find yourself desiring to abandon the life you have with Jesus at times, you are not alone. But you have a choice to where you put your attention and trust. Let your community in when you feel this way, and be honest with yourself and with God. Just as David did, be near to God and make him your refuge during those times. Remember why you decided to place your trust in Jesus and choose to give your trust to him moment by moment.
