It is guaranteed that Christians will face troubled times in their life, and their faith will be pushed to it's limits. The question comes as to how will you emotionally cope when God is not blessing your life the way you had hoped? During those hard times, Christians often lose the confidence of their faith, and bitterness creeps in and takes over. The challenge for the Christian is then to come out of the funk and hope again in God's goodness. With a renewed heart they can cherish fellowship with the Lord above all earthly blessings. We see such a process occur within the heart of the psalmist Asaph, as recorded in Psalm 73. Asaph's journey into and out of the darkness of his soul is a warning and an encouragement to all of us who find our own hearts similarly struggling.
The Confession of a Clear Perspective, Psalm 73:1
The psalm begins curiously with a conclusion--sort of an introductory conclusion. In the first verse he declares that, "Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart." This conclusion is vital since it reveals his state of mind at the writing of the psalm. He is going to give a raw account of when he was once in a "bad head-space," but at present he is in his right mind. He has a clarity over what he felt during that dark time and sees the folly for what it is. This conclusion is also encouraging for it shows that there can be faith at the end of the tunnel.
The word "confession" often invokes a negative reaction in people. Criminals confess crimes to the police; sinners confess transgressions to a priest. Yet "confession" also has a positive slant. Churches have confessions of faith wherein they boldly declare what they believe about God. Verse one is such a positive confession: "Truly God is good." This is the bedrock of all true faith, that God is truly good to the believer. No matter what, God intends good for his children. This was Asaph's conclusion which he returned to at the back-end of all his trials. He inserts it at the front-end of his psalm because he wants us to stand on this truth before our own trial begins. So before you have that meeting with your boss to be told that your position has been made redundant or doctors appointment with your oncologist, tell yourself, "Truly God is good."
The Complaint of a Bitter Soul, verses 2-16
Asaph moves from his confession of faith to his confession of sin in verses 2-16, when he recounts a dark season in his life when his faith was slip, sliding away, "But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped." (v.2). Such language depicts a person losing his faith, but did he actually lose it? It depends on how we define faith. In Hebrews 11:1, faith is defined as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." He had lost all assurance, conviction, and hope, so in one sense he did lose his faith. When he assessed himself he said that "my flesh and heart may fail" (v.26). He was "brutish and ignorant" and like a "beast" (v.22). His "soul was embittered" and his "heart pricked" (v.21). And if he were to have given voice to all of his dark thoughts he "would have betrayed" the faith of other believers (v. 15). He no longer believed that God was good to him. So at a practical level he had emotionally and practically lost his faith. But, you will notice those two little adverbs in verse 2: "almost" and "nearly." There still is hope.
What was behind this erosion of faith? His envy of the wicked. "For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." (v.3). He was continually frustrated by the worldly success of unbelievers. Their life seemed to be pain-free and prosperous (v.12). And then because of all their success they exuded pride, threatened violence, and spoke foolishly (v.6-8) They even mocked religion and the very idea of divine justice. Since there was no immediate negative consequences to their blasphemies, people began to doubt if God takes any notice. "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?" (v.11). This type of arrogant secularism is exploding in our day with the militant atheists, social progressives, and LGBTQ activists. Whereas in the past opponents of religion were at least respectful, now Christians must endure people who "set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth." (v.9)
If the success of the wicked wasn't bad enough, his bitterness is stoked by his own personal misery. He gripes, "All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence." (v.13) He concluded that he was righteous in vain. It was pointless to be godly. Where were all the blessings for keeping God's law that the book of Deuteronomy promised? Doesn't Psalm 1 say that the believer's leaf will not whither and every thing they do will prosper!? It seemed that all he got was hardship. "For all day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning." (v. 14) Implied in his complaint is a growing cynicism over God's justice. Perhaps you can relate to these inner complaints when you don't think your life has been blessed enough.
Trying to reckon with the reality of this situation tormented him:"But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed like a wearisome task." (v. 16). It was just too painful to figure out. You might wonder then if Asaph's depiction of the success of the wicked and the misery of the righteous was his own warped perception of reality, or a faithful accounting of how life actually is? It is certainly true that there are many highly successful and wealthy Christians throughout the world. Likewise, there are many rotten sinners who have made a devastating wreck of their lives. But we should heed the instructions of Jesus in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The rich man wore fine linen and feasted sumptuously his whole life. He represents the non-elect unbeliever who lives his whole life apart from the fear of God. In contrast, Lazarus is resigned to a life of homelessness, begging, and physical affliction. Lazarus is the Christian. Jesus seems to have a pretty low estimate of the average quality of life of the believer in this world.
So when your heart is festering in bitterness over your plight in life, how should you deal with it?First, watch yourself. When your hope in God's goodness has failed, be on guard, for you are in a dangerous place. Bitterness can be benign, but it can turn malignant. A hurting heart can turn into a hardened heart, and your slide into unbelief can lead to a complete falling away. Second, don't vent to people. When you believe that God no longer intends good for you, do not spew forth this ignorant nonsense to other believers. Looking back, Asaph writes, "'If I had said, 'I will speak thus,' I would have betrayed the generation of your children." (v.15). He recognises how damaging his faithless words would have been to the faith of other believers. The writer of Hebrews warned similarly to be careful that "no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble and by it many become defiled." (Hebrews 12:15). Lastly, if you need to vent, complain to God. That is a valid expression of prayer. God can handle it. He's got a thick skin. Besides he already knows what you are feeling. The book of Psalms is packed with the moaning and groaning of God's saints as they endure hardship in life. They cry out, "Why?!" and "How long?!" You may find that as you express your complaint a word of wisdom will return to you heart.
The Comprehension of Ultimate Reality, verses 17-28
It seems that all hope is lost for Asaph. But then he goes to church, and everything changes. "Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end." (v.17). When he entered God's house he gained a new perspective. By looking at the world he had an observation of reality, but in God's house he gained a revelation of reality. In God's house resides God's Word, and the Scriptures reveal a greater reality than what we can merely see. In the Scriptures we learn the ultimate truth concerning God's character, purposes, and the fate of all people.
In God's house he saw the future of the wicked, and it was not pretty. God has set the wicked "in slippery places" and he "will make them fall to ruin." (v. 18). They are "destroyed in a moment" and "swept away." The destruction gets worse. The wicked are like a nightmare which is quickly forgotten (v.20). People who "depart" from God will "perish" (v.27). A stronger translation of the second clause of v. 27 states that "you annihilate everyone who whores against you." So when does this "end" occur? Sometimes it is sooner than anticipated. Judgments comes both in time and eternity. The wicked person in this psalm mirrors the life of the American financier Jeffrey Epstein. He was a brilliant and charismatic figure who socialised with political leaders, royalty, movie stars, singers, and media moguls. His private jets flew him to his numerous mansions throughout the world and his two private islands in the Caribbean. However, he was eventually convicted as a sex offender and was under arrest for child prostitution charges. This past August, while awaiting trial Epstein managed to hang himself in his jail cell. He "was destroyed in a moment." (v.19) Absent any evidence of repentance onto Christ, his terror had just began. For the promise of terror follows into eternity. Like the rich man in the parable, Epstein will experience the torments of hell wishing for one drop of water on his tongue to alleviate his misery. So, don't envy the wicked. You don't want to be that guy.
This revelation from God is Asaph's future consolation, but the presence of God is his present comfort. He confessed that during his bitter, dark night of the soul he had become like a "brutish... beast." (v.22) God could rightly abandon him for his faithlessness. But in v. 23 Asaph declares that "Nevertheless, I am continually with you." What a beautiful word: "Nevertheless," conjunctions like "but" and "nevertheless" are some of the most theologically powerful words in the Bible (see Ephesians 2:4). He had lost hope in God, but he was still held by God. "You hold my right hand. You guide me with counsel." (v.23-24) In spite of his loss of faith, God remains faithful to him. That is why he added the words "almost" and "nearly" earlier in v. 2. God sustained him through the trial of faith. The doctrine of the perseverance of faith of the saints is undergirded by the doctrine of the preservation of the saints by God. What utter nonsense is that saying "God never gives you more than you can bear." Wrong! God always gives more than you can bear. This occurs so that you will learn to trust in God and not your own strength. Asaph said, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength [rock] of my heart." (v.26) When your faith fails, you learn that God is the real source and strength of your faith.
Asaph also considers his own end. In v. 24 he declares that "afterward you will receive me to glory." The Hebrew verb for "receive" is better translated "take." It is not that God is waiting to welcome him in heaven, but that God is taking him there. God has never left his side. In the end, the ending is all that matters. At least that is what Jesus taught. Verse 24 may be one of the most clear references in the Old Testament to the hope of a glorious afterlife in the presence of God. This is the ultimate hope, not all the goodness of this world. The apostle Paul thought so, "If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied." (1 Cor 15:19)
Asaph also had a hope in this world, but it was not connected to the fleeting pleasures and glory of this age. In spite of all his trouble he could conclude, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing that I desire upon earth besides you." (v. 25) The wicked may consider all the good things of this world to be their portion in life, but Asaph declares that "God is my portion." (v.26) The presence of God is his highest good. After all the disappointments and bitterness has faded, we ultimately return to the core affection of our soul. We quietly sing once again: "Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. You can have all this world. Give me Jesus." This is where we always end up after we are stripped of everything else. To be near the one who was a "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" becomes more precious than any material thing. During the suffering you may find a fellowship with Christ which the days of success could never afford. So he concludes his psalm the way he started it. "But as for me it is good to be near God." (v.28) For he knows "truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart."
