This is modified from an eDev I wrote back in 2002. It's still true! :-)
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When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny. Psalms73:16-17
This psalm is written by a man named Asaph. We don't know very much about him, but what we do learn from the Psalm is that he maintained his personal integrity and blamelessness at great cost. It appears that he went through a great deal of personal suffering and sadness. While his efforts to be righteous seemed futile in the light of his personal circumstances he also had a battle raging in his heart when he saw how carefree and trouble-free the wicked people around him seemed to be.
'It's not fair. It's not FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!'
One can almost feel the anger building up inside him and he admits at the beginning of the Psalm that he almost lost his grip:
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.'
Something arrested his slide down the slippery slope of discontent. Something prevented him from plunging into the abyss of self-pity and the mire of comparisons. Asaph went to WORSHIP. That's what going to the sanctuary was all about: - being reminded that God is greater and longer than our circumstances.
We see the here and now - God sees it all.
We think it will never end - God knows when it will
We think the wicked are invincible - God knows about their downfall
We think we are all alone - in worship we experience God's presence and interest
We think that we have to cope on our own - in worship God empowers us.
I find it tragic that one of the first things people who are having a hard time do is to stop attending church. This is a big mistake - it is precisely when we have doubts and when we are being swamped that we should go! When we don't understand, when the reality of evil seems overwhelming, and when we feel like we are out of strength let us turn to worship.
Steve Wiggins says: 'Take the biggest thing that's got you down and stand it upright next to God - anyone can see who's bigger now!'
And so Asaph finishes the Psalm:
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
