Psalm 73:21-24 - The Dog Who Read Shakespeare

My Goldendoodle has started reading literature! The other day I caught him reading The Riverside Shakespeare. With 1,923 pages, it's one of the largest books I own.

Okay, so he wasn't reading it. But he was gazing at it in a book case, so that must count for something, right? Even if he was imagining what it would be like to chew on it?

Do you ever find yourself staring blankly at the pages of a Bible? Sometimes we can be so distracted by our own pain or anger or frustration that we are as senseless as an animal.

The psalmist had started envying the evil people who thoroughly enjoy life--while good, innocent people suffer. His conclusion led him down a dark path:

"21 ...I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. 22 I was so foolish and ignorant— I was like a beast before you." (Psalm 73:21–22a, New Living Translation & v.22b, New American Standard)

In that state of mind, one can be looking at the Bible, even glancing through words on a page, but it's all a blur. It's as meaningful as a dog "reading" Shakespeare.

Fortunately, the psalmist tells us what brought him back to his senses.

"23 Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny." (NLT)

Father, when the world doesn't make sense to us, when evil seems to reign and good people are the ones to suffer, when we are numb inside for whatever reason...
Remind us that we haven't been abandoned by You. Hold on to us all the more tightly. Guide us back to the homeward path to heaven.  In Jesus' name, Amen.