I ALMOST LOST IT
PSALMS 73
Psalms 73:1-3
73 Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
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.
Asaph was a worship leader assigned by King David to the Tabernacle
In Jerusalem. He may have been a poet and a singer. Being dedicated
To God, he notices those who worship with their lips but not their
hearts.
As Christians, it is ingrained in us from the moment we accept
Jesus as our personal savior, that GOD IS GOOD. And from the
“Get Go” we expect God to give us all the good. We expect each day
To be good. Because we got Jesus.
The problem is bad things happen every day. And bad things happen
To us. And bad things keep happening. When we focus on the bad
We forget the good God is doing.
God is good to those with a pure heart. The question is what is a pure heart in God’s eyes? It is a person who has all the attributes
Of Galatians
Galatians 5:22-24
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Notice the Psalmist said he almost lost. Something stopped him
From going into the lost column.
But He spends time getting real with us. He gives us the root of
what troubled him.
3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
He compared himself to others. They are bad people. They are arrogant. They are wicked, yet good things happen to them
We have all been there. It is not fair Lord. They don’t deserve to be
Blessed. It that age old question, why do bad things happen to
good people? Why do good things happen to bad people?
Once we get a mindset of envy we are on a slippery slope.
But maybe we don’t think of envy, we just think of the injustice
We feel. I am better than them yet look at their blessings
Starting in verse 4 the Psalmist continues his observation of
The easy life of the wicked. They don’t struggle for life, They
Don’t want for anything, They don’t get sick like normal people.
The more wicked they are, the more they prosper.
While the righteous suffer violent acts, they prosper in violence.
They oppress others and mock God with their mouth
They knew God, but thought He didn’t care what they did. They continued To be evil and continued to increase in wealth.
Starting in verse 13, Asaph justifies his position. I am good. I have
Been good, I got a pure heart. I am wasting my time. I am done
With this.
I am troubled all day long. I get punished for what I do, what I say and
How well I treat the children of my opposition.
In verse 16, Asaph said I tired to understand what bad things happen
To good people and good thing happen to bad people’ It was
Beyond me until I went into God’s santurary.
I considered the Word of God then I knew the good that happen to ban people is just temporary. I know what you are doing Lord. You set them on slippery ground, They will suddenly be swept away
BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE FOR GOOD REASON
Do you know Oprah Winfrey's childhood story?
According to Wikipedia, she was born into poverty in rual Mississippi
To a teenage mother. They moved to inter city Milwaukee
She was molested at 14 years old and became pregnant. The child, her son was born prematurely and died. She was sent to Nashville
Tennessee to live with a man she called her father, Vernon Winfrey.
She landed a job with a radio station while in High School. At 19
She was co anchor for the local evening news
She was transferred to a daytime talk show where she booted their
Rating to first place. She launched her own production company
She is one of the black first billionaires. Has given over 400 million dollars to Educational causes.
Her story could have been a tragedy but God designed her early childhood with all the pain of growing up poor to prepare her for success
Starting in verse 21, Asaph took a look at himself and discovers that
The Pain and frustration with the people he considered evil was do
His ignorance and ungratefulness
He became grieved when he realized that God was always with him
Guiding and counseling him to glory
He concluded in verse 26
Psalms 73:26
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
In verse 2, Asaph said I ALMOST LOST IT, I ALMOST SLIPPED.
I Believe what stopped him from giving up on God was the Holy Spirit
Reminding him of the promises of God. The Lord can renew a
Right spirit in us to draw close to Him.
The psalmist was reminded that his purpose and position were to
Encourage others to follow God. I think Asaph knew how many people he would let down if he gave up on God.
He understood that his position was not about him but the glory
Of God.
Rev. M. Mitchell
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