The “providence” of God means that God takes care of His people. He watches over us, provides for us, is with us, and guides us along our journey through this world to the next. But what happens when the child of God is faced with the Enemy’s suggestion that God isn’t doing a good job of taking care of us? That God is somehow asleep at the wheel, remiss in His duties, or has altogether abandoned His post? Four prophets of God faced this exact temptation. Each one laid down a principle before he dealt with the issue. These four truths are non-negotiable. They are foundational to resisting the temptation of discontentment. If we can get a hold of them, we can guard ourselves the next time the Enemy comes to tempt us as well.
The Temptation of Discontentment
The Prophets & Their Stories
- Asaph in Psalm 73
- Job in Job 24
- Jeremiah in Jeremiah 12
- Habakkuk in Habakkuk 1-2
All four of these men of God faced the temptation to envy the wicked and question the providence of God for the just. In other words, the Enemy presented them with the notion that wicked people who had no fear of the Lord were living high and happy while the Lord’s people were not only facing the regular tribulations of life but also the additional plagues of God’s testing and chastening. We see how the Enemy tempted them to question God’s care for them and feel dissatisfied at the way He was handling their lives (and the world).
There Was a Temptation to:
- See our devotion to God as useless:
Psalm 73:13-14 “Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.”
- See God as uncaring:
Job 24:12 “Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.”
- Compare the treatment of the wicked to to the just (and feel slighted).”
Jeremiah 12:3a “But thou, O Lord, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee…”
- See God as neglectful:
Habakkuk 1:13b “…Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?!”
The Four Principles (Non-Negotiable)
What I love about these stories is that in each one, the prophet starts with a principle, a non-negotiable truth that guards his heart as he considers the Enemy’s temptation. I think of them as lines that can’t be crossed. In each case, the prophet then proves the principle with his experience. If we will but get these truths into our minds and hearts, we can learn these lessons the easy way and save ourselves a lot of trouble wrangling with the same temptation of discontentment.
Principle #1: God is Good to His People
“Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.”
Psalm 73:1
Asaph begins Psalm 73 with this truth and then abruptly begins to explain his own experience with temptation. As an English teacher, I always found the shift between Psalm 73:1 and Psalm 73:2 to be jarring with its lack of transition. That is, until I saw the bigger picture. In the first verse, he is announcing this principle to himself and his audience. Then he allows himself to consider the temptation set before him. It’s like setting his boundaries: “I can only go this far in my thinking, no further.”
He explains how the Enemy tempted him to envy the prosperity of the wicked and to find fault with God’s care and provision for the righteous. (What good does it do me to follow God?) But even in his temptation, he realizes that the thought is wrong. He says in Psalm 73:15 that he dares not speak it aloud (because putting voice to evil thoughts is like agreeing to them).
Instead of complaining to others, he does what every child of God should do in his situation: he takes the problem right to God. Psalm 73:17 says, “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.” He realizes that those who live and die without God may look as if they are prospering now. Actually, though, they are on a slippery slope. They are merely experiencing the last remnants of a happy dream, but upon their deaths, they will awaken abruptly to the reality of their desolation with cries of terror.
Not So for the Child of God
As for the child of God, he reminds himself of the principle he set out in the beginning. God is Good to His people.
- He is with us and holds us by the hand (Psalm 73:23).
- He guides us through this life and will receive us to Himself in the afterlife (Psalm 73:24).
- Our real consolation is God Himself (Psalm 73:25).
- Though our flesh and hearts may fail, God is our strength and portion forever (Psalm 73:26).
- We can trust Him and will always have a reason to praise Him (Psalm 73:28).
Principle #2: God Is Omniscient (He Sees & Knows Everything)
“Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?”
Job 24:1
Job begins with a question. “Since God sees everything, why do the wicked go unpunished?” Job laments that the wicked aren’t getting their due while the innocent are being hurt in the meantime. The enemy whispers, “Doesn’t God care?” Then Job sees that it’s not a matter of caring but of timing.
The wicked may believe that they are getting away with their crimes (Job 24:15) and might even feel secure that lack of momentary punishment means that all is well (Job 24:23). The just, on the other hand, know that, as corn ripening on the vine, there will come a day when the wicked WILL be cut down and taken away (Job 24:24). After all, God sees everything, both inside and outside of us. He knows the whole story when we may only see a part of it, and he cares deeply about our world even when His timing isn’t our own.
Principle #3: God is Righteous/Just
“Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments…””
Jeremiah 12:1a
Jeremiah comes to God humbly and respectfully. He isn’t trying to argue; he just wants to understand. The wicked people seem to be getting away with so much while he, an earnest man of God, is suffering from the judgement of God on the land because of THEIR treachery. What’s the deal? God’s answer isn’t the most comforting. He basically says that Jeremiah “Ain’t seen nothing yet.” His trials now were small, but they would get bigger. Jeremiah just had to be patient and endure.
It is a truth that often the Lord will give us smaller trials (running with the footmen in a land of peace) to prepare us for larger trials later (running with the horses in the swelling of the Jordan). His hand is on our lives, purposely moving us through the experiences that we will need to do the job He calls us to do. There was no sugarcoating. Jeremiah was going to have trouble just like every child of God will. On the other hand, God assured him that in the end, justice would be served. God is, after all, righteous/just. The wicked would either learn to follow God or be cast down in God’s timing (Jeremiah 12:16-17). God will reward everyone according to his works.
Principle #4: God is Holy/Pure
“Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.”
Habakkuk 1:13a
In the first 4 verses of Habakkuk 1, the prophet bitterly laments that God isn’t answering his cries for God to judge the wicked. He doesn’t understand the reason for the delay. God then assures him in verses 5-11 that justice is coming. In fact, God would raise up another nation more wicked than Judah to bring that punishment soon. That nation, the Chaldeans, would attribute its victories to their false gods, but Habakkuk would know the truth of God’s plan. A bit confused at this, still Habakkuk reassures himself that (his) God is from everlasting. He is eternal and therefore much bigger and more powerful than his temporary problems.
He also reminds himself of this fourth principle in Habakkuk 1:13, the truth that God is pure and holy and hates sin. His mind is still trying to process the world in light of it. He asks basically, “Why then isn’t God doing anything to help?” In fact, the Chaldeans were about to ADD to the wickedness of Judah even as they were the instrument of judgement for it. Here, the Enemy is tempting Habakkuk to believe that God is neglectful and sitting by while the evil flourish and set traps for the innocent.
Habakkuk Does It Right
But Habakkuk’s question was presented to God in the correct way. He automatically assumes in Habakkuk 2:1 that God is right, and his own thinking is the problem. He resolves to wait patiently to hear from God about where he had gone wrong. After all, even when a truth seems to contradict reality, we are to assume that it WILL be reconciled at some point. (Even if we can’t see HOW it’s true, it’s true.)
Long story short, God’s reply was that He is sovereign and Holy. The wicked will not prosper. God isn’t the author of sin and can do no iniquity. He does permit it to try the faith and patience of His people and to distinguish the hypocrites from the sincere, but He doesn’t approve it. God is Holy/Pure. After they have served their purpose, the Chaldeans would be dealt with. Habakkuk ends by the prophet’s request that in God’s wrath, He remember mercy. He resolves to rejoice in the Lord no matter what it looks like on earth and will joy in the God of his salvation.
The 4 Principles
- God is Good to His People
- God Is Omniscient (He Sees & Knows Everything)
- He is Righteous/Just
- He is Holy/Pure
When the Enemy comes with his temptation of discontentment, we will do well to remember these four principles. These are truths that cannot be shaken. They are lines that can’t be crossed in our thinking, just like the time that the Lord told the sea that it could go no farther than the shore. No matter what the situation looks like in the natural, when there are any apparent contradictions, we must assume that the problem is on our part. Either we don’t have all the information, or we are not looking at it from the correct perspective.
When the Enemy lies to us that devotion to God does us no good, we will remember that God is good to His people. When we are tempted to see God as uncaring, we will remember that He sees and knows everything and will serve justice in His timing. If we are ever tempted to compare God’s treatment of us to the treatment of the wicked, we will remember that God is righteous and just to recompense both good and evil, and it’s our choice which side we are on. If we are ever tempted to see God as “standing by,” neglectful, we will remind ourselves that God is holy and pure and will not allow evil to stay even a moment past His purposes. We will find joy in our salvation.
Enjoy looking at scripture?
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