All we have to do is look around us and realize that our world and the society in which we live is far from God’s plan. When many in political leadership have tossed aside biblical standards and many in powerful positions scoff at morality from God’s point of view, it is easy to become discouraged. “Wrong” things can happen within the Body of Christ as well. As leaders, how are we to respond? How can one not become discouraged when “right” is called “wrong,” and “wrong” called “right?”
Fortunately, we are not the first to have to deal with such difficulties. God’s Word records a similar situation in Psalm 73 that can be of great help to us as we face the tragedy of our time. Asaph begins with fact, with what he knows is true:
1 Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
Through an honest and transparent testimony of his own weaknesses, he begins to recount his inmost thoughts and feelings. He confesses that he even envied the wicked because they seem to avoid all the difficulties he had to face:
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.
4 They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.
5 They are free from common human burdens;
they are not plagued by human ills.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
their evil imaginations have no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
10 Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.
11 They say, “How would God know?
Does the Most High know anything?”
12 This is what the wicked are like—
always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.
Focusing on their “success” causes the psalmist to become discouraged and depressed. See what he says in the following two verses:
13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments.
When we take our eyes off of Christ and His will and direction for our lives, we can quickly become despondent with everything going on. We can feel as if God has abandoned us and has left us to suffer under injustice and evil. The tendency is to focus on the injustice of the situation and then blame God for not preventing or averting the travesties that cause the innocent to suffer.
A related problem is that we mistakenly believe that if we love the Lord, that we will never have to suffer. God uses all things to form and reform us into His image. Perservering under difficult circumstances helps us and reminds us to be dependent on God.
When we begin to think that God is unfair and has abandoned us, we need to do as the psalmist did. Let’s look at what he discovered in verses 15-20:
15 If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!
20 They are like a dream when one awakes;
when you arise, Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.
“Till I entered the sanctuary of God...” When the psalmist refocused his attention on God and mediated on who God was and what He had done in the past, he began to understand their end. Notice that the situation does not change: the wicked are still in power, they scoff at God, and they live as God doesn’t care or even exits. However, an understanding of what God has done in the past reveals that His mercy and grace are high to the heavens, allowing for even the vilest offender time to repent. An understanding of how God has worked in the past reminds the psalmist that God has the final word and that sin is always punished. Judgement comes in God’s time, not ours.
Seeking out God in mediation and worship had another result that instrumental in the psalmist dealing with his discouragement and despondency: he realized that inwardly he was bitter. Look at verses 21-22:
21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
When our focus is on the prosperity of the wicked it is easy for us to become envious of the carefree life they seem to live. The more our focus is on their prosperity the more we lose our ability to think logically about the situation from God’s standpoint. Jealousy replaces our sensitivity to God’s working in our lives and robs us of a grateful attitude for all of God’s blessings.
His time of mediation clears his mind so that he can to begin to think clearly again and he can begin to state the reality of the situation in correct terms: God is in control. God is in control of my life. He will provide and protect. I can learn to trust Him and He will receive the glory from my responding rightly.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
27 Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.
Verse 26 is key to the recovery of the psalmist: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” He is not in denial of his personal situation, nor does he glibly brush off his feelings. He simply sets his focus on the only one that can truly change the situation and make things right. Regardless of the outcome, his trust and confidence is in God. God is in control; God will bring justice, God is the strength of my heart and refuge forever. His heart response then was to share with others what God had done in his life.
So now what? Let’s look at some steps that we can follow based on Psalm 73 that can help us through difficult times:
1. Realize that we are not above becoming failing, from becoming discouraged.
2. Many times we become discouraged when we spend more time focusing on the “prosperity of the wicked” or the problem, than the strength of the Savior.
3. We need to be honest about our thoughts and feelings before God.
4. Mediation on who God is and what He has done can help refocus our thoughts. Biblical worship is one of the best first steps toward the refocus.
5. As we worship God, we realize that He is in control and that we can trust Him.
6. We also realize that God has a righteous judgement and that all sin will be dealt with in a way that brings God glory.
7. As we worship, we will begin to see the sin in our own life and confess it before the Father.
9. We center our focus on the reality of Who God is and What He as done more than present circumstances.
10. We share what God has done in our lives.
