NO BITTER HEARTS. By Pastor Fernando

SCRIPTURE
Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant - I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.
Psalm 73:21-24

OBSERVATION
The psalmist in this psalm describes his thinking process when comparing his life with those who are noticeably wicked. He starts by pointing his efforts to keep his heart pure and to walk in God's ways while the wicked does not care about God. Subjectively he realizes that the wicked prospers and the righteous suffers pain. He concludes that his choices to keep his heart pure were not as rewarding. Then he describes how he comes to his senses when coming before the presence of God. He understands that God is just and that His justice comes sooner or later. And then is when he pens his awareness about the true condition of his heart. He realized that while he was trying to have a pure heart, by fixing his eyes on others, he developed a bitter heart. And yet, God was faithful to be with him, to guide him, and to lead him to a great future.

APPLICATION
I truly believe that each one of us walk through the same process in our minds. We make good choices because we want to honor God, yet our lives seem full of pain and disappointments. And if we fix our eyes on others that don't care about God's ways, we see how they prosper and have a pain-free lives. The first time this happened to me, I was in College. I was the "good boy." Some people called me, "The Priest." I was guarding my heart from immorality and the things of this world. However, my friends who embraced the partying and the ways of this world, had a great life. I have to recognize that I was miserable. I felt that God's rewards were not good enough for me. I was becoming bitter. Now, years later, I can see that God has truly blessed my life, and my college friends have started to experience the consequences of their past choices. God is just and his rewards come sooner or later.

This is a good reminder for me because the same temptation to fix my eyes on others and compare my fate is still available. I need to guard my heart from bitterness, from having a sense of entitlement of God's blessings. Every time I think that I missed some of the fun this world brings because I made godly choices in the past, I'm facing this temptation. I cannot let my mind dwell on that. I must be In God's presence and remember that He is just and He rewards those who are faithful to Him.

PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, please forgive me for the bitterness I allow in my heart when I start thinking you are not fair in blessing me more than those who are not obedient to your ways. let me to fix my eyes on you, not on others. You are just and fair, and sooner or later, people get the rewards they deserve. Let me continue planting seeds of righteousness in my life and have no regrets about that. And when the ungodly prosper, let me pray for them so they can find you and repent from their sin. Amen!