BUT AS FOR ME!

BUT AS FOR ME!

Ps 73:1-3

A Psalm of A'-saph. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.

2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.

3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Ps 73:21-26

21 Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.

22 So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.

23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.

24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.

26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

           The Psalmist observed those who did not worship the true God and yet they enjoyed every earthly pleasure and comfort. He also observed God’s people suffering pain and being in need. He could not reconcile this in his mind. He began to reason that following God had no real and practical benefit. The ancient pagans used to say: “The prosperity of the wicked is a reproach to the gods!”

           We often feel we deserve better treatment from a God we serve so faithfully. In verse 21 the Psalmist said that these thoughts caused him great pain. “I am pricked in my reins” means literally “I was pierced through my kidneys.” I was so troubled in my thinking that I felt someone had punched me in the stomach. While I love and serve God it seems He has ignored my need and my situation. I feel abandoned and wonder if it is worth while to continue serving Him.

           Thinking it through, the Psalmist knows he is being foolish (v.22). He is only thinking like a beast who is only concerned with his next meal. He wants to rise above the ordinary in his thinking but he is overcome with disappointment. Yet he knows that God holds him by his right hand and he has not been abandoned. He is conflicted and his confidence has been shaken by difficulty. He is struggling.

           Have you ever felt this way? Do you feel this way now? Are you jealous of those who reject and resist God? Do think you deserve better than you are getting? This kind of thinking is a quagmire. It will trap you and defeat you if you are not careful. So, how did the Psalmist deliver himself from such thinking? I think the answer is in these next verses.

Ps 73:16-18

16 When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;

17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.

18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.

Dear Lord, with my heart I know that you love and care for me but there are times I am lost in wrong thinking. Help me to “consider the end” and to know that I am truly blessed. AMEN