“The Road Away from Bitterness” (Psalm 73:21-28)

You
ever resented someone for having something you don’t?  Really…just you and Jesus hearing the answer
in your head: have you ever found yourself walking down the path to bitterness
because someone had something and you didn’t? 
I have.

I
remember a time when I was so frustrated at a job opportunity a coworker was given
and I wasn’t selected.  In everyone’s
eyes—except my manager—I was more qualified for the job.  I had been praying for the Lord to provide
some extra money and this position would have done just that.  But I was passed over.  No reason. 
No meeting.  Just deflated.

The
coworker chosen for the position wasn’t a Christian—matter of fact, I was
witnessing to her as we would work together. 
But now I had to deal with the same feelings we all can deal with from
time to time: what I saw as God’s opportunity for me was dealt to someone
else. 

Been
there?

Our
Psalm-writer, Asaph, has been struggling with a subject we still find ourselves
struggling with today: why do those far from God seem to be blessed and those
(of us) near God seem to have life so hard? 
As he concludes Psalm 73 we read in verses 21 through 28:

²¹ When my heart
was grieved and my spirit embittered,

²² I was
senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.

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.

Psalm
73:21-28

I
love his honesty, don’t you?  “WHEN my heart was grieved…I was a brute beast before you…”   He doesn’t sugarcoat his frustration and how
it made him look to the Almighty. 
Instead, Asaph acknowledged it not only to the Lord (who was already
quite aware of it!) but also to himself. This is what Asaph is saying: the more
I considered the situation, the more it didn’t make sense to me (“I was senseless”); the more it didn’t make sense, the more bitter
I became.  With increasing bitterness,
Asaph found himself in the throws of depression.

Get
this: pondering our problems only leads us to bitterness.  There is no life down that path.  I’m not suggesting sticking your head in the
sand but I beg you to consider where this kind of thinking leads you.   

Asaph
starts to get it as the inspired Psalmist turns a corner and remembers, “God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”  (verse 26). 
We won’t be able to make sense out of some of these things but
ultimately we don’t have to.  They are
out of our control.  They are not,
however, out of His control!

This
leads him to his final words in this Psalm:
“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.”

I
don’t remember where I first heard it but it’s true: we gain a new perspective on
a problem when we consider, not the circumstances around us but the destiny
before us.  As the wise Apostle John wrote “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the
will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).

Ultimately,
I wasn’t at that job very long because God’s ultimate provision came along for
me.  I was so elated and excited when
this other job came along but I would never have kept looking for a better
paying job had I been given that manager’s position.  It seems, then, in the plan of God, it was
His sovereign will that I be denied the immediate solution for an infinitely
better one.  Hmm…God knows what He’s
doing.  Who knew?!

Our
blessing, dear one, is not in having all the answers, but knowing the One Who
does.  In Him is our rest, hope, security,
and peace.

Verse
1

How lovely is Your
dwelling place

O Lord Almighty

For my soul longs and
even faints for You

For here my heart is
satisfied

Within Your presence

I sing beneath the
shadow of Your wings

Verse
2

One thing I ask and I
would seek

To see Your beauty

To find You in the place

Your glory dwells

Bridge

My heart and flesh cry
out for You

The living God

Your Spirit’s water to
my soul

I’ve tasted and I’ve
seen

Come once again to me

I will draw near to You

I will draw near to You
to You

Chorus

Better is one day in
Your courts

Better is one day in
Your house

Better is one day in
Your courts

Than thousands elsewhere

 “Better is One Day”

Matt
Redman

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