Text: Psalm 73:1-20
Memory verse:
”Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.”“
Genesis 41:51 NKJV
No matter how bad or how much the righteous may cry today, his tomorrow will definitely be greater than his past. God is so sure of this that He calls us to pay attention to the righteous to see how this will play out tomorrow. ”Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace.“ (Psalms 37:37).
Are you under pressure to compromise your ways? Are you getting tired of living right? Are you burdened with so much care that you feel like giving up? Have you started considering if living right is worth it at all seeing the prosperity of the wicked?
David had the same experience at a stage in his life. He said, ”Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart. But 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.“ (Psa 73:1-3). He thought he had served God in vain and that his righteous living was worthless until he went into the sanctuary, where God revealed to him the end of the wicked.
Don’t give up your righteousness, for you won’t be forsaken. Don’t envy the wicked (Psa 37:25).
Take time to study the lives of the righteous in the scriptures. All of them laughed last despite all the travails they had. Consider Abraham and Sarah, who had delay in childbirth. What about Zechariah and Elizabeth? Can you remember all that Joseph passed through in the hands of his own siblings and at his workplace? At last, he was so compensated that his reward swallowed up all the pains and affliction of the past (Gen 41:51-52). Job is an outstanding example of the glorious end of the righteous. Some of his family members and friends mocked him and forsook him. His wife even asked him to throw away his integrity, curse God, and end it all (Job 2:9). After all the troubles, Job laughed last, and he became a reference point. ”Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning…“ (Job 42:12).
Friends, don’t give up on God or throw away your integrity. You will also laugh last, and your tomorrow will be greater than today.
Prayer points
1. Father, please strengthen my heart in the midst of the pressure around me, in Jesus’ name.
2. Father, please don’t let me envy the wicked nor give up on my integrity in Jesus’ name.
Today’s declarations
1. No matter my troubles today, I am convinced that I will laugh last.
2. I will not envy the wicked, nor will I give up on my integrity.
Contact: pastor@thf.org.ng