People often get discouraged when evil people seemingly have everything: material things, happiness, joy. To many, it seems like life has blessed these people despite them living a life far from God. Appearances can deceive. The truth is that perseverance toward our goal of heaven is the best advice we can adhere to. In the long run justice will be served, which is not always apparent in our eyes. We perceive little; but God sees the whole picture. In Psalm 73 it appears that wicked people have everything: joy, money and power. They apparently possess all this despite having a defiant attitude toward God. But in the long run, when the wicked experience trials, they will not have the inner power to withstand the assault: “they are destroyed in a moment, swept away by terrors” (Psalm 73:19). In the New Testament, this verse is communicated in a similar way: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7: 24-27). Faith in God and living a life of grace builds an inner sanctuary that serves to withstand all wicked forces. An inner rock of peace and strength is the consequnce of living a life in Jesus Christ. We are encouraged to hold onto this promise when we see the godless finding apparent success in life. The truth is that they do not have that internal security in God, and that will be their downfall.
When the wicked have it all
