SET IN SLIPPERY PLACES

Memory verse: surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castedst them down into destruction. Psalm 　73:18　

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 　Jeremiah 29-30　

BIBLE STUDIES: Psalm 73: 3-22　

At one point or the other, you must have wondered, how come the wicked is prospering and the righteous have nothing to show for their righteousness.You are single , you have kept yourself pure by not defiling yourself with the opposite sex before marriage, you attend service regularly, you pray and fast, you sow seeds - time, energy, money, etc and nothing is happening in your life, no brother has come to say hi. 　Meanwhile, your friends or colleagues who are living a wayward lifestyle – drinking, smoking, partying, etc are getting married. You are diligent at work, you do your work well, never done fraud or forge any records and yet for over five years, you have not been promoted but your friends who participate in dodgey dealings, are the ones getting all the recommendation and promotion. In ministry, you preach the truth, keep God's standard , work very hard and yet ,the church is scanty. Meanwhile, others who are playing games and wasting the destinies of their members by not preaching the truth to them keep expanding. One may be tempted to wonder if righteousness really pays. 　

You are not the only one who has entertained such thoughts; the psalmists in his time observed that, only the wicked made progress, the righteous despite working really hard was stagnant. This man saw the righteous going from one challenge to another, as he is leaving one problem he is entering into another problem but the wicked enjoyed peace. He saw the wicked, leaving in affluence, their children doing well in school; he said "I envy the wicked". Psalm 73:3 says for I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 　Later, when the Lord opened his eyes, his confession changed. Instead of envying them, he began to pity them. 　Psalm 73:18 says surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castedst them down into destruction. 　A slippery place is a place full of danger. Because they have been marked for destruction, the Lord permitted them to prosper temporarily 　to aid their destruction. They were like cows fed for slaughter. The Lord permitted challenges on the path of the righteous to prune him. He refines him in fire so that by the time he comes out of it; he will be shining like gold. After He must have worked on him, taught him patience, endurance and humility, He will now elevate him.　

NOTE: 　What you are facing at the moment, is your desert experience. Moses went through it, Abram passed through it, Jesus while on earth went through it too, you and I must go through it before we can become great.　

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.