Why Them and Not Me? When Your Enemies Prosper and You’re Standing Still (Psalm 73)

Faith Hub · Psalm 73

Why Them and Not Me?What to do when your enemies are winning and you’re standing still

They hurt you, and they’re thriving. You’ve been faithful, and you’re stuck. If that thought has crossed your mind, you’re in good company. It crossed Asaph’s too, and God put his honest prayer in the Bible. Six short steps, about ten minutes. Nothing you type ever leaves your phone.

“For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked… Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.”Psalm 73:3, 17

Step 1 of 6 · Be honest

What’s really going on in your heart?

Tap everything that’s true. God already knows. This is just for you to say it out loud.

Step 2 of 6 · The full picture

Their highlight reel vs. what God sees

You’re seeing their best angle. Tap each card to flip it.

One important thing: “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth” (Proverbs 24:17). This isn’t about waiting for them to crash. It’s about remembering that their win isn’t God’s final word, and neither is your loss. “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way.” Psalm 37:7

Step 3 of 6 · The sanctuary

Until I went into the sanctuary

Asaph didn’t get his answer by staring at his enemies. He got it by turning toward God. Read slowly.

“When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;Psalm 73:16

Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.Psalm 73:17

Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.Psalm 73:23

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.Psalm 73:24

Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.Psalm 73:25

My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.”Psalm 73:26

Notice what changed. Asaph’s enemies were still rich. His situation was the same. What changed was where he was standing, and Who he was looking at. He stopped measuring his life against theirs and remembered: God himself is my portion.

Step 4 of 6 · Your standstill, renamed

Where are you stuck right now?

Pick the one that feels closest. Every one of these was a place God was using, not a place He forgot.

Waiting isn’t the same as being forgotten. Very often, it’s being positioned.

Step 5 of 6 · Stand in the gap

Pray for them. (Yes, them.)

“And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends” (Job 42:10), the same friends who hurt him. Standing in the gap doesn’t excuse what they did. It just refuses to let bitterness have the last word.

Before you pray: praying for someone is not inviting them back in. Forgiving isn’t the same as trusting again, and you can pray from a safe distance with firm boundaries. If someone is hurting, threatening or controlling you, your safety comes first: National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233 (US) or text START to 88788. In immediate danger, call 911.

For them, I pray…

And for me, I pray…

Step 6 of 6 · Your Book of Remembrance

Write down what God has already done

“…and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him” (Malachi 3:16). Comparison only looks at what they have. Remembrance looks at what God has done for you.

Saved only on this device. Come back anytime the comparison creeps in.

🙏 Pray With MeBring the rest of it to God. 🎭 Comparison Is a ThiefA game about the trap you just walked out of. 🕊️ Forgive Us Our DebtsFor when you’re ready to work on forgiving. 📖 Ask the WordVerses for jealousy, betrayal and unfair treatment.

Wear the reminder: Never Failed Me Yet · Scripture from the King James Version. This page offers biblical encouragement and is not a substitute for professional counseling or emergency help. Nothing you type here is sent anywhere.