Ps
73:2-5, 16-17 (NIV)
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.
4 They
have no struggles;
their
bodies are healthy and strong.
5 They
are free from the burdens common to man;
they
are not plagued by human ills.
. . .
16 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.
. . .
21 When
my heart was grieved
and my
spirit embittered,
22 I
was senseless and ignorant;
I was a
brute beast before you.
NOTE: Psalm 73 is a
perfect song for the needs in our life. It describes my wife's feelings and
mine to a certain extent. I've not been as vocal, but deep down I've thought
the same thoughts as Sharon. In the Psalm, Asaph complains about his affliction
and seemingly lack of affliction affecting the wicked. Asaph wonders whether he has walked with God
in vain. Why walk with God if it only brings burdens to one's life? Yet while
Asaph can't understand on his own, when he enters the presence of God and
understands the wicked's final destiny, it makes mores sense. The wicked's
destiny is hell and the suffering of Hell can never compare to any suffering on
earth. Then Asaph remembers his bitterness toward God and realizes that he has
no other hope than God. God has not abandoned him, rather God has given him
strength to deal with the troubles and burdens.
((TODAY, 16 July
2012: The psalms capture the heart of the writers. They are real with emotion
and true in their feelings. Asaph struggles with bitterness, and so we all
struggle at times to make sense of life. If this life is all there is, then
there is no justice, but we believe that there is life beyond the temporary,
and all the wrongs will be made right in that day. I still struggle with these
thoughts at time, but I've also come to realize that "not everything is as
it seems." The wicked and arrogant are not so happy as they make
themselves out to be. We really don't know a person's life by observing the
surface. What is below the surface is usually not so pretty. And so justice
probably comes a lot sooner than many of us realize.))
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