Psalm 37:Life is Unfair

Psalm 37:Life is Unfair

This Sunday, we were privileged to have our Chairman and Elder Quah speak on the message “Life is Unfair” from Psalm 37.

Starting from verse 1, “Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong” Elder Quah drew our attentions to four important points that he had picked out from the acronym FRET.

FRET NOT

REALITY CHECK

EXTEND YOURSELF

TRUST GOD

Firstly, FRET NOT. David reminds us that God is against the wicked lest we be angry and allow our anger to eventually lead to evil.

Secondly, REALITY CHECK. Sometimes, the downfall of the wicked can be painfully slow. It is not easy not to take matters into our own hands.

Thirdly, EXTENDING YOURSELF. Sometimes, we may seem to suffer deprivation when the wicked flourish and it is not easy even to turn away from evil when we are wronged. However, Jesus calls us to do even more: to bless our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us.

Finally, TRUST GOD. When we spend time with God and pray to Him, we will learn to be still and trust Him even in the worst circumstances. When we keep His ways and not our ways, we will see that although life is sometimes unfair, in the end, God is faithful!

David himself lived these truths literally. When Samuel came to the house of Jesse, no one had even considered David, but God chose him and he was anointed as king. From then on, things quickly became promising when David killed Goliath and achieved instant fame. He never planned to be king, but King Saul saw him as a serious threat and sought to kill him. And because of this evil man, David lost everything, his job, his home, his wife, everything! He was forced to run into hiding as a fugitive and even had to send his family to the Moabites for their own safety. He even lost his mentor, Samuel, and most importantly, the privilege of going to the temple to worship God! And David waited 14 years before he became king.

Taking a REALITY CHECK, we see that David did stumble. He lied to the priest Ahimelech and King Saul killed dozens of the Lord’s priests as a result. He lied to the Philistines and pretended to be a madman to save his life. He continued to live a lie in his service to the Philistines, pretending to attack Israelites when he was actually plundering others. Worst of all, David later had Uriah murdered to cover his own shame.

Yet, David EXTENDED HIMSELF. When he had the opportunity to kill King Saul twice, he did not. Later, David showed kindness to a grandson of King Saul,  Mephibosheth and even had him sit at the king’s table. David was able to let God deal with Saul in His own time. Time and again, David found strength in the Lord His God, even at his darkest moment when enemies had plundered and taken away his family and the families of his men. At that time, even his own men had been ready to stone him.

Jesus Himself understood what it means to be treated unfairly. Born in a smelly manger, and dying the worst kind of death on the cross, Jesus was rejected by the very people He came to save, and all his disciples deserted Him. Elder Quah referred again to the story of Jonie, the diver who became paralyzed in an accident. She appeared to have lost a lot of things, but God met all her needs, even her fear of never being able to be married. In the end, she married her physical trainer, a strong man. She learnt to paint with her mouth, and became an inspirational speaker of hope, touching the lives of hundreds of people. Her accident was a turning point in her life, but it all turned out for the best, as the Word says “All things work out for the good of those who love Him”.

In closing, Elder Quah asked two our own members to share their testimonies of how God turned what seemed unfair into a great blessing. Sister Evelyn shared how she was terrified when her newly born son was found have several defects. She watched helplessly as he struggled for his life, and persevered year after year in bringing him up as best she could. Looking back, sister Evelyn realized that the experience really humbled her and enabled her to enter a deep and meaningful relationship with the Lord, making her a much better person than she would have been otherwise. She learned to treasure life, and enjoy even the simple things that her son could do. Brother Loh shared how he was very unfairly sidelined despite excellent service in his work for the government. Still, looking back, he shared how he found strength in God and continued to have great hope for the future, inspired by the many heroes of faith in the Bible.

Let us all indeed not fret because of evil men, but be patient and sow love where there is hatred, and pardon where there is injury. In the end God will make all things right.

God bless,

Jason