It does not matter who you are or how long you have been serving the Lord. We are all capable of falling when we turn away from God. It is with in your DNA to make mistakes, to trip and fall on your face. But I know a God that can change who you are, he can change your DNA.
Asaph was a man of God without a doubt, he was a worship leader in the house of God, and he authored Psalms 50, and Psalms 73 to 83. We know that he was appointed minister of music by King David in 1 Chronicles. We know that he was of a Godly family. He probably looked the part and had all the priestly garments that was of the day. He probably spoke right and said all of the right words used by the religious of the day. I am sure that it was not a show, he was truly a man of God and lived what he preached. But as we look at Psalms 73:1 we can see into his heart and what he was thinking at this point in his life.
Psalms 73:1
Truly God is good to Israel,
to those whose hearts are pure.
2 But as for me, I almost lost my footing.
My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.
He said that his feet were slipping, he was not referring to the way he walked physically. He wasn’t saying I tripped today and almost fell on the ground. He was referring to his walk with God. He was talking about how he lived for God. He said I know that God is good, I know he is. But as for me, I was falling, and I was almost gone.
Why was a man who lived in and near the temple all his life, falling? Why was his faith shaken? What could have happened to this man that made him question Gods plan.
Let’s continue reading and we will see why……
3 For I envied the proud
when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.
Pride crept in and had began to destroy him from the inside out. He was probably still ministering, still singing, still playing the drums, the cymbals, the brass instruments, the bible says he played. Have you ever caught yourself in a thought that started as something small and then 15 minutes down the road you were angry and anxious about a person or an incident that otherwise you wouldn’t have been. The incident could have happened years ago but one thought brought it back and then you began to dwell on in.
Before you know it you are feeling the pain of it all over again. Maybe some one did something to you by accident and it wasn’t a big deal at first but you went home and began to think about it. Some of you have gone as far as to confront that person and more problems have come of it than if you would have just given it to God.
Then the next thing we know we are thinking what Asaph thought in verse 13
13 Did I keep my heart pure for nothing?
Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?
14 I get nothing but trouble all day long;
every morning brings me pain.
What am I doing, I have prayed and received no answer. I feel like God is not hearing me. Have I done what is right for no reason? Maybe I should just not go to church anymore if this is how it’s going to be. I have served God for 20 years and I see only the wicked prospering. Asaph had taken his eyes off of God and put them on himself. Everything was turning inward. Has this ever happened to you? Is this happening to you right know? Have you got your eyes off of Jesus and began to look at yourself and what is going on around you. When you allow the devil to speak into your life, he never gives you the full picture, he gives you his version of it.
I am sure this is what is going on in Asaph’s mind here. He goes on for several verses complaining about the wicked and the injustice of their prosperity, and then he tries to understand it but cant, then he comes to the corrects conclusion that we all need to come to. In verse 17.
17 Then I went into your sanctuary, O God,
and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.
18 Truly, you put them on a slippery path
and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.
19 In an instant they are destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors.
20 When you arise, O Lord,
you will laugh at their silly ideas
as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.
But wait not only did he realize the end of the wicked, he saw his own heart.
21 Then I realized that my heart was bitter,
and I was all torn up inside.
22 I was so foolish and ignorant—
I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
23 Yet I still belong to you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
leading me to a glorious destiny.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
I desire you more than anything on earth.
26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
he is mine forever.
He was falling and was going away from God. He didn’t turn from knowing God was real but he was mad that the wicked were prospering and growing. He was so upset that he was saying, “What’s the use in being a good man, a man of God”?
But he was healed when he came into the sanctuary of God, into God’s presence. What was the sermon that day I don’t know? But I know God and I know that God is personal. I am willing to bet that God saw his heart, and said today’s message will be for Asaph. If Asaph had not gone into the House of God and heard whatever the message was that day, or if he had failed to pray that day he would not have been healed. He would not have understood the questions that he had; he wouldn’t have realized that his heart was bitter, and all torn up inside. He wouldn’t have realized that he was being foolish and ignorant. He was bitter and torn up inside, all of his focus had been turned from God on to his problems and the wicked of his day. Pride had crept in and it was all about him and how bad he had it. God why am I serving you if all I get in return is bad? But the wicked do there thing and they seem to be prospering. We have all probably asked these questions at one point or another. God why? We all probably have the testimony of going through hard times and then coming into the house of God and hearing a word that turned everything around. No matter where I am go through or what is happening, no matter if the wicked seem to be doing well and I am not, NO MATTER.
23 Yet I still belong to you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
leading me to a glorious destiny.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
I desire you more than anything on earth.
26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
he is mine forever.
When I can’t seem to figure out the answer to WHY? The only answer that matters is YET I STILL BELONG TO YOU! What glorious hope we have as believers.