Then I Realized  – Psalm 73 Part 6

Scripture: Psalm 73 (Click Link)

21 Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. 22 I was so foolish and ignorant—I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. 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. (Psalm 73:21-24 NLT)

All the wrongs and injustices that Asaph saw were real! The emotions he experienced were real. But punishing all the proud and wicked people, righting all the injustices he witnessed, these things were not the solution to Asaph’s real problem. What Asaph realized in the presence of God was that there will always be things that need to be corrected. There will always be injustices and inequities. It’s not fair? Of course it’s not fair! There will always be someone who has it better than you and there will always be someone who has it worse. Like Jesus, we’re here on earth to do all we can do to make things better. We know that from Jesus’ own lips:

18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, 19 and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” (Luke 4:18-19 NLT)

But Asaph realized that his problem was inside him, not in other people, and not in his circumstances!  It was his heart that had become bitter, it was his insides that were all torn up over the wickedness of others. He realized that the solution had to take place inside his own heart before he could do anything about it in the external world. We can’t let the sinful, imperfect condition of the world stop us from believing God wants to make things better. We can’t let the wickedness that others seem to be getting away with stop us from keeping our own hands clean and our hearts pure.

We still belong to God! My respect and admiration for Asaph has grown as we’ve worked through his Psalm/Song of complaint together the past few days. I admire his honesty. I admire that he didn’t give up, but pursued his doubts and questions into an encounter with God. I admire that he was careful not to discourage others or cause them to stumble as he pursued the truth. Let’s be like that!

Prayer:

Father, Thanks for your patience with Asaph (and us). We’ve learned that when we get torn up inside, we can come to you honestly, and you’ll hear us and help us. Thank you for your unfailing love, for your grace and mercy. Amen!