WEEK 4 | Emotions | Jealousy & Despair
UNGODLY JEALOUSY & ENVY
Psalm 73:3-5, 12
3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.
5 They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.
12 This is what the wicked are like—always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.
“Jealousy is a desire to protect our beloved possession from alien suitors. Envy is a desire to acquire or repossess the jewel of our eye…At the core of jealousy and envy is a desperate desire to limit loss and guarantee satisfaction.”
-Tremper Longman
LONG RANGE VISION OF GOD’S JUSTICE IS THE ANTIDOTE TO JEALOUSY & ENVY
Psalm 73:23-28
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
GODLY JEALOUSLY: THE JEALOUS LOVE OF GOD, JEALOUS LOVE OF OUR SPOUSE
Ezekiel 16:38
38 And I will judge you as women who commit adultery and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy.
Ezekiel 16:59-63
59 “For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, 60 yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. 62 I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, 63 that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.”
DESPAIR, THE LOSS OF HOPE, THE PASSIVE COUSIN OF JEALOUSY
Psalm 88
Psalm 77:1-9, 10-12, 16-20
1 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.
4 You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old, the years long ago.
6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”
“The irony of faith is that it is not a quiet submission to the fates. It asks, and it shouts; it is a cry that is heard in heaven.”
-Dan Allender
10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.
THE PSALMIST TURNS TO FOCUS ON GOD’S PAST FAITHFULNESS
16 When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder: your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
GOD’S PAST DELIVERANCE IS A SAFEGUARD AGAINST HIS PRESENT DESPAIR
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
GOOD FRIENDS REMIND US OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS
