Happy Friday! What a morning it has been already! The rain is coming down in buckets with no end in sight. Tiff and I are up and in a very “lazy day” state of mind. She is having so much fun watching her beloved “Alvin and the Chipmunks” movie. I wish you could hear her laugh – its infectious and will no doubt put you in a fantastic mood!

I’m all cozied up on the couch with a cinnamon black coffee, my favorite grey knit blanket, and my bible. I’m currently reading the book of Ester, but for whatever reason found myself reading Psalm 73 as something I had underlined immediately captured my attention as I flipped the pages to get to Ester.

In Psalm 73, David simply lays it all out there before God how he envied the wicked because it appeared from the outside of their lives they have it all going on. Life seems “perfect” for them. They get blessed and have their health all while being boastful and full of pride. They use their pride to crush others, they’re cruel, they scoff and speak evil of others without even appearing to feel a bit bad about it. They’ve turned from God through their pride and because of that, are living confused but still aren’t “punished” for their bad behavior.

This frustrated David. He began to ask God, “Did I keep my heart pure for nothing?” He is bugged for sure! David continues chatting with God explaining how he as nothing but trouble all day – every day and points out to God if HE were to talk to others like that or treat people that way, he’d be nothing but a traitor ( hypocrite) to God’s people.

David tries to make sense of it all.

He tells God, “I know, surely you’re going to send them on a slippery path, sending them to a place of destruction which will destroy them and at the end, You will laugh at them.” David seems to get some sort of satisfaction out of that thought. I think it makes him feel validated in some way.

THEN…David realized his heart is bitter and he’s all torn up inside (sounds familiar). He apologizes to God and expresses how embarrassed he is by his words and heart attitude. David goes on to sing his praises to God and how faithful God is all while seeing how awful his own heart got towards those other people and even towards God.

David definitely had a shift in his attitude, his perspective, and his heart. God will show us it’s our responsibility to SEE things from the RIGHT perspective. HIS perspective. It starts with us, our mindset, and our heart attitude.

I have been struggling with some people in my life lately, and like David, thought (and some days I still think this way to be honest) God should bring down the thunder and punish them for the way in which they boast and lie via their pride. It sickens me to no end…so much so, I am now dealing with some health issues because of the bitterness and “keeping score or record” in my OWN heart towards them. Like David, I find a little comfort in the thought of God punishing them. But this is not how God wants me to feel. In doing so, I am behaving no better than the people I have an issue with.

It’s not up to me if they are punished or not. It is not up to me to “right” every lie they tell. It is not up to me to keep a record of every wrong they do or say against me. It’s not up to me to envy or get jealous of them when it appears they “have it all” and are richly blessed even when they are cruel and dishonest.

It is up to me to change my perspective. It is up to me to trust God in all area’s of my life. It is up to me to focus on the love, forgiveness, and faithfulness of God. It is up to me to not concern myself with what’s being said about me. It is up to me to remember God is my protector. It is up to me to love and serve God, not man. It is up to me to not be concerned about others opinions of me. It is up to me not to grow bitter. It is up to me to forgive. It is up to me to simply and freely be me!

God LOVES ALL His children. He is patient with us and forgiving of us and loves us unconditionally, so why would He not be the same towards those we have issues with?