When the Wicked Prosper and the Faithful Struggle

We’ve all seen it. Powerful and wealthy people who are far from God have everything they could want in this life, and believers who follow God as best they can struggle through with little or nothing.

We often ask why.

We see people who cheat and lie, run others over, and seem to be winning at life at every turn. They’re celebrated and praised for their greatness. Meanwhile, faithful Christians are the ones being run over by life. “Why, God, do you let this happen?” is the question on our lips.

The writer of Psalm 37 is a wise, older man (verse 25) who has seen bad people prosper while good people suffer all his life, and he gives us advice on how we can respond. Before you read further in this post, I encourage you to quickly read through this psalm and get a feel for what he’s saying.

Psalm 37 also includes one of my favorite verses, one that helps us know God’s will. We’ll talk about that, but first, I want us to see the verse within the overall context of the psalm. And the psalm is talking about how we should react when we see the injustice we’ve already mentioned.

First, the writer tells us not to be upset about bad people doing well and not to be jealous of them.

Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. (Psalm 37:1)

Well, that’s easier said than done. I find myself being a little jealous sometimes. I admit, there are times when I see an actor who makes his living pretending to be someone else, earning millions of dollars to make movies that draw people away from God, and I’m looking through sales papers to find the best deals on groceries, yeah, I feel a twinge of jealousy and frustration. God says, “Don’t let yourself do that.” Okay, so what can we do instead?

First, we can “trust in the Lord, and do good” (37:3). The temptation is to envy the “evildoers,” but that’s just doubting God. He is in control, after all, and he’s the one who’s allowing their success. Trust God, then live the way you know he wants you to. Take your eyes off them, put your eyes on him, and live in obedience to his Word. Justice is going to come to them soon enough (vv. 35-36), but that’s God’s business, not ours.

Second, and here’s my favorite verse in the psalm, “delight yourself also in the Lord” (37:4). Enjoy God. Don’t just enjoy the things he does for you, but enjoy just knowing him. Appreciate the incredible privilege of being loved by him and love him back. Love the fact that you’re always in his presence. Love God. Live to please him because you love him. If you feel weak in this area, it’s a legitimate prayer to ask, “God help me not to just love what you’ve done for me, but help me to love you, to enjoy you, more and more.”

The psalmist also says to “commit your way to the Lord” (37:5). If you trust him and delight in him, it’ll be easier to submit to him. Surrender to God’s leadership in every area of your life. Let him lead you in all you do. Give everything, your health, your family, your job, your stuff, over to God and his control. If you surrender to the Lord, he will “bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday” (v. 6). Don’t focus on the ungodly who prosper. God promises that he’ll make things right and bring his justice when he’s ready. Meanwhile, live for him, follow him, obey him.

Finally, and this isn’t easy for a lot of us, “rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him” (37:7). As the late, great philosopher Tom Petty said, “The waiting is the hardest part.” God promises to make all things right, but it’s in his timing, not ours. Meanwhile, it can seem like that promise will never come true. Good people are hurting while bad people are winning, and it just isn’t fair. “God, when are you going to do something about this?” God’s reply, “Trust me, and wait.” It’s easier to trust God when we know and love him. And it’s easier to wait on God when we trust him. It may not be in this life when we see justice, but it will happen.

Then God throws in this little kernel: “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath” (v. 8). Stop being mad about bad people who prosper. Get your eyes off them and onto God. If you focus on what evil people are doing, you’re just going to get mad. So don’t focus on them. Focus on the Lord. Trust him, and do good. Delight in him. Commit your way to him. Rest in him, and wait patiently for him. You do your thing with God, and let him handle everything else. He’s much better at handling these things than we are.

God sees, God knows, and ultimately, he makes all things right. So keep trusting, keep delighting, keep committing, and keep resting in him. God is in control, and his promises never fail.

Okay, that’s the end of today’s post, but here’s the bonus material. Let’s drop back to the verse I mentioned earlier, v. 4:

Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

This is one of the most helpful parts of Scripture for understanding God’s will, but I wanted you to see it first in the context of the psalm. Again, the writer shares this verse as something we should do in light of the prospering of evil people. It also applies when we’re seeking God and his direction in life.

Maybe I’ll do a post or series on knowing God’s will, but I can summarize here. Psalm 37:4 is not a promise that if we delight in God, he’ll give us “our heart’s desire,” or everything we want. That isn’t what the psalmist is saying. He’s saying that, as we delight in the Lord, as we grow to love him and enjoy him and surrender to him, as we grow in all that, God will put his desires into our hearts. The more in love with him and surrendered to him we are, the more our desires and wants are changed into his desires and wants. He doesn’t give us our wants; he puts his wants into us. That’s why I tell people, when it comes to knowing God’s will and making decisions, to the extent you’re submitted to him, do whatever you want. Do whatever you want. Because the closer you are to him, the more your “want” will be his want.