Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. Psalm 37: 16, 17, NIV.
Dear God, please speak Your will to our hearts. Help us to listen and obey. This we ask in the holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
In the age of the Prosperity Gospel, this message might not be very appealing to many. However, rightly understood, this message has nothing to do with the blessedness of poverty. The real message is that good will triumph over evil at last. Because of the financial hardship that many are suffering, unscrupulous people are having a fields day by offering people instant wealth. People who are desperate, are very vulnerable before these scam artists.
The two main messages in this portion of Scripture that I see at a glance are the following:
“The power of the wicked will be broken[.]”A lot of study and hard work has been put into finding the way to “beat the system.” Every unscrupulous person is sure that his or her method of deception is foolproof. There was a time when Hollywood script writers made it their duty to prove, that “crime does not pay.” Today, that is not always the case. The soap box operas, the mini-series, and the reality shows, actually glamorize crime to make it as appealing as possible. Men and women who are in an adulterous relation are portrayed as much more in love, and happier, than a couple who have been faithfully married for many years. The drug-peddler lives in opulence and has need of nothing; while the honest person who owns their own business, or, works for a corporation, is portrayed as hardly able to make ends meet. The “good” person in a movie dies a tragic death, while the villain survives.
But that is Hollywood’s version of life. Many of their script writers study human nature in order to find and feed human beings with what appeals to our lower nature, until their appetite for the good and noble is almost extinct. Then the mind becomes feverish and it becomes harder and harder to experience satisfaction! Every episode must outdo the preceding episode with horror, or perversion, or evil, in an attempt to satisfy.
God’s side of the story, the only truthful version of life, is quite different. Crime and evil may exist for a time, even going apparently, unpunished. As a result, we find the following, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Ecclesiastes 8: 11). But no matter how long a wrong act is allowed to “prosper,” God’s Word cannot return to Him empty (Isaiah 55: 11). Therefore, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6: 7).
The other main message is the following: “but the LORD upholds the righteous.” I am almost certain that many who read this devotional can testify to this fact! When we go to the Lord broken, battered and bruised, we will never walk away in the same condition! Our “God specializes in things thought impossible[!]” When the enemy thought that he had dealt us the death blow, God called many of us forth from the tomb – even after the fourth day (John 11: 39); because death cannot exist in the presence of the Life-giver! Hallelujah!
When you and I are upheld by God, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy [will come] in the morning (Psalm 30: 5)! There are times when it seems that the powers of evil cannot be stopped. It seems as if evil will prevail and bear sway, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40: 31). Under these circumstances, our little, with His blessings, become great. Our little faith, our little hope, our little means, all become great, in the hands of the Almighty. We need not fear evil because, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4: 4)!
Whenever we are tempted to doubt whether it pays to serve Jesus, just remember that, “heaven and earth will pass away” before any portion of His Word fails (Matthew 5: 18). His Word assures us, ” ‘ “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. . . ” Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22: 12, 14).
On that final day, what a blessing it will be, to be on the Lord’s side! Upheld by His power and saved by His grace! Hallelujah!