But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God. (Ps. 52:8)

MY CAT THINKS he is the center of the universe. He sits on my laptop when I’m trying to work, purring happily. He claws at my leg trying to get my attention when I’m doing dishes. He walks all over my bed in the middle of the night, trying to get a scratch under the chin. All that is cute compared to his real problem: He loves to sit on the kitchen table to look out the window. We will holler at him and push him off, throw pillows at him, and threaten his very life—but he just looks at us as if we’re crazy. He simply can’t grasp the idea that he’s not allowed to do something.

Now, Twitch is our beloved pet and we can laugh at him, but God is not laughing at the unrighteous people who ignore Him. These vile people boast about their crimes; they plot destruction; they love evil more than good; and they simply cannot fathom the idea that they won’t be able to continue this way forever. God’s justice will burn against them, and they will be destroyed.

I don’t want to be nearsighted like that. I want to persevere in righteousness so that the Lord will have mercy on me. I want to thrive in the house of God, because He is good and it is His name I love.

Declare your love for God today.

Heather Gemmen Wilson is the author of the Global Warning Series (WPH), a fiction series for preteens.