This week’s devotional

THE LONG VIEW

The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry ,but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

Proverbs 10:3

How often have you heard the expression, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”?

That is an applicable rule of thumb when discerning the gimmicks of sales personnel and telemarketers. We must be careful that we do not apply that same thinking to God’s Word. It’s different with God. It’s always different with God. When He tells us something in the Bible that sounds too good to be true, take Him at His word.

Within chapter 10 of Proverbs are two verses that sound too good to be true:

The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry

but he thwarts the craving of the wicked (v 3).

What the wicked dreads will overtake him (her);

What the righteous desire will be granted (v. 24).

What do God’s children do with these verses? We know from history and personal experience that the wicked can prosper and the righteous do indeed suffer. Paul E. Kopak wrote, “Christians must avoid mechanistic understandings of God’s moral order and remember that the long view calls them to affirm God’s care even when present circumstances do not appear to show it.”

We need the long view that David gives in Psalm 37: Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away (v. 1-2). Do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil (v. 7-8).

Look at the long view! Look past today’s circumstances by looking back: I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread (Psalm 37:25). Look beyond the here and now by looking forward: Those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. The meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace (Psalm 37:9, 11). The long view trusts that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. He’s Jehovah Jireh – God our Provider, El Roi – God Who Sees, Jehovah Ezer ­– The Lord our Helper, Jehovah Shammah – The Lord is There, El Shaddai – God Almighty. By faith, the long view is sure of what it hopes for and is certain of what it does not see (Hebrews 11:1).

Wisdom Step: In what circumstances do you struggle to take God at His Word? Ask Him for power to overcome your unbelief so you can see the long view.

True, the immediate reward of the righteous often appears to be only pain and toil, but, in the end, God Himself guarantees that the things they have most longed for they will have: the conscious enjoyment of His full presence. [See Matthew 5:6].

John A. Kitchen

grace and peace,

Lenae