Day 99

Of Divine Providence

Chapter 5, Paragraph 6.

“…But sometimes also withdraweth the gifts which they had,…“

Scripture Lookup

Matthew 13:12

Reflection

Wildly prosperous and successful seem to be the wicked’s lot. There are conniving, selfish people out there who lie, cheat, and steal without batting an eye, and their material goods keep growing. Psalm 73 talks about this apparent contradiction to God’s word. Believers struggle; many ungodly do not. What gives?

This flourishing of the unbeliever is not universal, however. Sometimes God chooses to remove some of the common graces He bestowed upon them. Swindlers can lose their wealth to a more devious swindler. Illness and disease strike the ungodly. Arrests and jail time do occur to some lawbreakers.

When tempted to envy the wicked their supposed life of ease and comfort, let us remember that not all ungodly live such glamorous lives. Let us also remember that their end is destruction. How comfortable can such a life be that does not have communion with God?

My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
That I may tell of all Your works.

Psalm 73: 26-28

Questions to Consider

• Can you think of examples of God withdrawing the gifts of the wicked?