Different outcomes - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 112:1,10.

"Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who finds great delight in his commands...

The wicked man will see and be vexed,
he will gnash his teeth and waste away;
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing."

Two men, two outcomes. One is blessed while the other is vexed. One,
in the end, has blessings: wealth, riches and an enduring
righteousness, a man who is remembered forever. The other will waste
away, his longings coming to nothing.

What is the cause of the difference in outcomes? The first "fears the
Lord" while the second is a wicked man. Why the disparity in approach
to life - why does one fear the Lord with the resulting blessings and
another be vexed at the end in his wickedness?

In the Scriptures I read that some love their sinful ways and, as an
expression of their own free will to do so, they cling to them. When
exposed to the gospel message, they reject Jesus Christ to cling to
their sin. Jesus said, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the
world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds
were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come
into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." Clearly, some
choose to remain in their sinful ways when confronted with the claims
of the gospel message.

How about the blessed man? How is it he places his faith in Jesus
Christ when confronted with the gospel message? Jesus went on to say,
"Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be
seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." These,
rather than cling to sinful ways, come into the light of the gospel
message to embrace the Lord in faith. They want the Lord for
themselves more than they want their sinful ways.

Each of the two men have a heart, each have a will. One will choose
God over the sin in his life while the other will choose the sin in
his life over God. God has chosen the former for himself. God wants
those who want him. These are the ones who receive their blessings
from God for an eternity. The sinful may enjoy what they have for now,
but it will always be short-lived.

May we all turn from our sin to Jesus Christ through the gospel message!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com