12 July Psalm 73

At the end, what truly matters is knowing God

Asaph, a worship leader and prophet during king David's time, nearly lost his faith in God. He grappled with understanding why wicked people seemed so prosperous and healthy.

Psalm 73:1-5(MSG) states: No doubt about it! God is good— good to good people, good to the good-hearted. But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness. I was looking the other way, looking up to the people at the top, envying the wicked who have it made, who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world.

The Psalm portrays godless people as being free from pain, well-fed, and without troubles. A believer experiencing hardships may sometimes feel that wicked people have absolutely nothing to worry about. Bitterness sets in, as they see that all wicked people have it easy.

Psalm 73:12-14(MSG) illustrates this: The wicked get by with everything; they have it made, piling up riches. I’ve been stupid to play by the rules; what has it gotten me? A long run of bad luck, that’s what— a slap in the face every time I walk out the door.

Then we see a shift in the Psalm, where the Psalmist realises that all these riches mean nothing without God. “If we get our eyes off ourselves, our problems, our wants and lacks, and off of what everyone else seems to have, we realise how blessed we really are just for having him,” - Lydia Brownback reflects.

As Asaph refocuses on God, his thinking changes, and his perspective shifts. He begins to understand the true reality, Psalm 73:15-20(MSG) captures this shift: If I’d have given in and talked like this, I would have betrayed your dear children. Still, when I tried to figure it out, all I got was a splitting headache… Until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I saw the whole picture: The slippery road you’ve put them on, with a final crash in a ditch of delusions. In the blink of an eye, disaster! A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare! We wake up and rub our eyes… Nothing. There’s nothing to them. And there never was.

Asaph comes to realise that what matters in the end is not what we have, our position, our address, and wealth, but having God. Being a child of God is worth more than all the riches of this world.

Psalm 73:25-28(MSG) reinforces this: You’re all I want in heaven! You’re all I want on earth! When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, GOD is rock-firm and faithful. Look! Those who left you are falling apart! Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again. But I’m in the very presence of God— oh, how refreshing it is! I’ve made LORD GOD my home. God, I’m telling the world what you do!

At the end, what truly matters is knowing God.