Psalm 37:9-11 In Just a Little While...

The average human lifespan is about 79 years. To some, this seems far too short. The Greenland Shark, for instance, lives for nearly 500 years! We certainly don’t live as long as that, but our lifespan is far longer than others. For instance, the adult mayfly only has a lifespan of one day—24 hours! Imagine how different your life would be if you only had one day to live! Compared to the mayfly, our lives last forever, but compared to eternity, our lives are just a vapor in the wind—here today and gone tomorrow.

When we are suffering, we feel like the Greenland shark; it feels like we have endured this trial for decades, and we ask with the psalmist “how long, oh Lord?” But, from God’s perspective, we are just little mayflies. If a thousand years are like a day with God, then this trial, no matter how long it lasts, is just a light, momentary affliction. It too shall pass. How long must we endure this trial before it passes? Well, Psalm 37 tells us, “just a little while.”

Please read Psalm 37:9-11.

As David surveys his neighborhood, he finds some troubling results: evil people are prospering while good people are suffering. People always ask why good people are suffering, but they rarely ask the corollary: why are evil people prospering? The Bible teaches us that all people are desperately wicked, given over to their sinful desires, and rebelling against the Sovereign King of the Universe. So, why doesn’t our All-Powerful God simply wipe these evil people out? Why does He allow them to live? More than that, why does He allow them to prosper—to have so much more than others who love God, but are enduring hardship?

Contrary to what the modern health and wealth gospel teaches, God does not want us to come to Him so that we can prosper materially, financially, healthily, or in any other earthly way. Rather, Jesus told us that following Him would mean carrying our cross; it would mean suffering, persecution, and hardship. We don’t follow Jesus for material gain; we follow Him for spiritual gain.

We recognize that we too were once desperately wicked, given over to our sinful desires, and rebelling against the Sovereign King of the Universe. We too deserved to have God wipe us out! But God showed us grace.

The grace of God was revealed in Jesus Christ when He gave His life on the cross for our sins. Through Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven of our sins, cleansed of our unrighteousness, and welcomed into God’s eternal kingdom. This blessed hope is present in our lives from the moment that we turn from our sins and trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. But it is not fully realized until we get to heaven.

While we are left on this earth, we look around at the people around us who have not put their faith in Christ. These people are still living lives of wickedness. Yet, they are prospering. They are amassing wealth, getting the promotion that we wanted, buying that bigger house and newer car. Meanwhile, Christians are experiencing less and less privileges in the world. It would appear, especially in our current political climate, that persecution of Christians is not far off. It would appear, from a worldly perspective, that Christians are going to suffer while the wicked will prosper.

Even if it comes to that, we must remind ourselves that this world is not our home. No matter how much persecution we must endure on this earth, “In just a little while, the wicked will be no more.” In just a little while, Jesus Christ will welcome us into our eternal home. I can endure trials for the lifespan of a mayfly if it means I get to endure the riches of heaven for an eternity. In just a little while, believers in Jesus Christ will “delight themselves in abundant peace.”