Til I Entered

H. G. Wells once described God as “an ever absent help in time of trouble.” While we may be annoyed by the accusations of the agnostics, most of us have felt that way ay some point or another. We believe God is there and in control, but what we see going on in our lives doesn't really seem to match up.

That is exactly what Asaph struggles with in Psalm 73 (my daily reading for today). What Asaph sees in the world does not correspond with what his faith taught him. Faith said that God was good to Israel and to those who are pure in heart. But what Asaph saw around him was that the wicked prospered and the righteous often did not. He says in verse 3, "For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." Then he describes the prosperous wicked in verses 4-12, ending with “This is what the wicked are like-- always carefree, they increase in wealth” (v. 12).

But as Asaph struggles with this view of the world, he gets another and fresher perspective. And that perspective comes to him in a surprising place. He enters the sanctuary of God, the place of worship and praise, and then everything becomes clear to him (Psalm 73:16-17)

When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.

As long as Asaph was isolated from the people of God, from the community of faith, then he struggled with his doubt. But when he goes back to the sanctuary, when he reenters the community of believers in worship, then his faith is renewed and refreshed. His faith in God is restored as his participation in worship with the community of faith is restored.

And within the house of God Asaph gets a whole new perspective of the wicked. He begins to see their prosperity as a house of cards, vulnerable to every wind of chance (73:18-20). This new assessment led to the strong conviction that God does not forsake His own! God is present in the valley of darkness, even in the valley of the shadow of death. He offers comfort in times of distress, counsel in times of perplexity, and strength in times of weakness. So the psalm that began as a bitter cry of disillusionment and lost faith ends with one of the strongest statements of faith and confidence that we find in scripture (Psalm 73:25-28)

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.