Ps 74

Devotion 1 of 1: Ps 74

This is another psalm by Asaph expressing his dismay at how the enemy was damaging and burning down the meeting places of God in the land (v.1-8).
He cannot understand why God would allow the enemy to blaspheme His name when He could destroy him instead, just as He did when He saved Israel by opening the Red Sea, by providing mana in the wilderness and by drying up the Jordan River (v.9-15)!
Asaph ends this psalm with a plea to God to protect His people from this enemy (v.18-23).
I believe this psalm applies to Christians who are suffering persecution now in many places around the world. We can also apply this psalm to the endtime, when AC will persecute the church. Although we don’t see the answer to Asaph’s prayer in this psalm, we know from other psalms, like 73, which Asaph also wrote, that in the end, God did answer by casting down and destroying the wicked!

1 PET 2: Free sharing!
V.20-21 struck my heart. “For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.”
This Scripture instructs us that we are called to suffer patiently, even when we do nothing wrong, and are beaten or scolded by our bosses! This is the calling given to all Christians! In today’s society, our personal rights are thought to be very important, so if we get scolded wrongly, we often respond in righteous anger.
But God wants us to behave differently from the world. I believe His emphasis is on developing our character rather than protecting our rights. An example of this is a woman basketball player named Caitlin Clark. She broke the record for most points in college basketball, men or women, and entered the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) this year as the no. 1 pick in the draft.
Because she was the most highly touted rookie to ever enter the WNBA, many seasoned pros wanted to put her down. They played roughly against her, fouling her constantly, treating her terribly on the court and also criticized and mocked her all the time on social media.
But Caitlin didn’t respond to them in anger (most of the time). She took it as part of the growing pains of learning to become a professional basketball player. Her positive, non-critical attitude won her a huge number of fans. They flocked to her games. Even when her team traveled to other cities to play, there were more Caitlin fans than home team fans in attendance! Almost every game her team played was sold out, and the stands were packed with Caitlin fans, wearing her uniform! Her team’s home game attendance increased 4X more than the previous year!
The whole WNBA has been lifted to a new level because of her! And although a rookie, she was selected to the all WBNA team, the top 5 players, at the end of the season. Although there are other players who are more skilled, none have her popularity. I believe one big reason is because of her positive, wholesome character.
Let us, too, follow in Jesus’ steps and learn to suffer patiently. Remember, the world is watching us!