Psalm 73

Most of us have asked the question at some point: why do people who do the wrong thing seem to win while those who try to do right seem to struggle? Psalm 73 gives that ancient frustration a voice and then shows us the way through it. The psalmist nearly lost his footing because he was consumed by envy, comparing his life to those around him and losing sight of God in the process. Everything changed when he stopped trying to figure it out on his own and entered the presence of God. From that vertical vantage point, his view of others, himself, and his own desires were completely transformed. The prosperity he had envied looked entirely different in the light of eternity. Getting vertical, through prayer, Scripture, community, and solitude, is what shifts us from a distorted horizontal view to a clear and grounded one. The prison of envy does not have to be permanent. The door opens when we stop looking sideways and start looking up.