A Change of Heart

Psalm 73:2-5,16-17, 25,28: "But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles . . . free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills . . . . When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny . . . . Whom have I in heaven but you (O Lord)? And earth has nothing I desire besides you . . . it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."


I love the transparency of the writers of Scripture. Whereas they wrote under the Divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, these writers shared their painful struggles in life. For example, Asaph shared in Psalm 73 his frustration with the prosperity of the wicked while he himself was plagued with penury. Asaph envied the wicked. He wanted what they had, and he was angered that God seemed to be indifferent to his circumstances. Asaph felt as if his commitment to purity and obedience to the Lord was all in vain, for it seemed not to bring any noticeable benefits from the Lord. As Asaph witnessed the wicked's calloused attitude toward the Lord and yet were prospering in life, Asaph felt gipped. He desired the wicked's supposed carefree lifestyle, full of affluence, popularity, and confidence; and Asaph's covetous spirit nearly caused him to lose his foothold on the path of righteousness (73:2). The more that Asaph tried to reason through his circumstances in light of his contemporaries around him, the more he became burdened by such gross unfairness and inequity. He believed that he was trying to do the right thing and was suffering for it; yet the wicked (i.e. those who had an indifference to the Lord) seemed to him to be living lives of happiness and blessing.

When Asaph had reached the end of his rope and was on the verge of throwing in the proverbial towel in discontent, grief, and bitterness (73:21), the Lord ushered the writer into His presence at His sanctuary for better clarity of the circumstances. God revealed to Asaph that although the wicked seemed to be blessed in all areas of their lives, there would come a day when they would have to give an account for their wickedness against the Holy, Righteous God. This day of judgment would bring to light the wickedness of these people, as God would distribute His eternal wrath upon them leading to their eternal ruin (73:18,20).


Asaph then realized the had been like a "brute beast" in his ignorance and senselessness to the realities of God's sovereign working. He was reminded that God was using Asaph's circumstances in life to craft him into a person who would glorify the One True Lord. God was choosing to take Asaph through some difficult circumstances to mature him into the person of potential that the Sovereign One knew Asaph could be.


Asaph was reminded that his life of supposed misery was but a temporal setting that would be overtaken by a more glorious existence with the Lord in glory. Asaph then had a change of heart: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you" (73:25). How beautiful was Asaph's repentant heart . . . He now realized that God was everything. Asaph did not have to dwell in the misery of comparative reflection with others around him; he only needed to keep his eyes on His Lord. God would ultimately resolve the inequities that this life had afforded him. Asaph had grown so much through this experience, that he concluded that even if he were to lose his life, it was okay, for he knew that God was his strength in all circumstances.


It was at this point of serendipity that Asaph started doing some serious worshipping. He loved being in an intimate relationship with the Lord, and he sought God as his refuge even though the times were difficult. Asaph proclaimed that the Lord was good to those whose hearts were pure, and he couldn't wait to share that goodness with others around him. Asaph had a true change of heart, now that he was looking at the Lord and trusting Him by faith. The writer of Psalm 73 was no longer looking at his circumstances around him and becoming discouraged.


Boy . . . this is such a good word for each of us. How many times have we fallen prey to the irrational conclusion that God is not willing to bless us for our faithfulness to Him? How many times have we taken our eyes off of the Lord and looked at our circumstances only to become discouraged that we don't have what others have? We become like the ignorant, senseless "brute beast" that Asaph called himself in that we are driven by our selfish desires and not by faith in God. We must remember that God is good, and He will orchestrate the path of our lives in such a way that we will trust in Him, mature in Him, and ultimately bring glory to Him .