Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure.
—Psalm 73:13
Sometimes God’s children get testy when trouble comes. Why doesn’t God deliver the righteous from trouble and dump it on the wicked?
Asaph’s complaint that the wicked prospered and were exempt from trouble led him to protest: “Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure … I have been punished” (Ps. 73:13, 14). But when he went to church the light came on: “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny” (Ps. 73:16-17).
While on earth, you are living in hostile territory: land mines and enemy fire are a given. But one day the war will be over, and you will be going home. Then you’ll know for sure that you “did not run or labor in vain” (Phil. 2:16).
You are on a “forever” journey. Don’t judge
the whole trip by these first few earthly miles.