Psalm_73
Scripture
Psalm 73:26My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Observation
“The title of this Psalm (A Psalm of Asaph) tells us that it was written by the great singer and musician of David and Solomon’s era (1 Chronicles 15:17-19, 16:5-7, 16:17, 2 Chronicles 25:6 and 29:13).”Much like David in many of the Psalms, Asaph is here sharing his frustrations…frustrations that while he works hard to be a “good Christian,” the wicked are prospering and far better off than he. We witness throughout the chapter his evolution of thought – from frustration, to resolution to abiding in Christ.“This wonderful psalm may be best understood by the dominate pronouns within. When Asaph is troubled by the fate of the ungodly (73:1-12) the dominate pronoun is they. When he describes his own frustrated thinking leading to the resolution (73:13-17) the dominate pronoun is I. When he finds resolution of the problem (73:18-22) the dominate pronoun is You, in the sense of God. When He proclaims the assurance of his faith and fellowship with God (73:23-28) the dominate pronouns are a mixture of You and I.”Italic quotes taken from https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-73/
Understanding
I don’t know about you, but I know I’ve seen and felt what Asaph shares here. Fortunately, though, God chases harder after us than we ever could Him. Even at our most obedient, most hungry, most desiring of Him, His love is still perfect and ours is not; and, in His perfect love, He brings us back to Him, makes us whole, empowers us. Our heart, our human flesh – they fail, time and time again; it’s part of our human condition and along with that comes doubts, jealousy, scarcity thinking. But…and this is a BIG BUT…when we take our eyes off of ourselves, off of the earthly circumstances that surround us, and place them on God, that is when we find resolution, prayers answered, abundance, peace, joy. May we abide in Him.
Life Application
So how do we keep our eyes heaven bound?Elijah shared with me last night that, at Surge, Pastor Levi talked about our human hunger vs. our spiritual hunger. Our human hunger is full one moment and a couple hours later, we’re hungry again! My human hunger clock is on an every 2-3 hour cycle…Must. Have. Food. I know that and I plan for it. I make/buy/pack snacks and I take the time when the hunger hits to go and grab those snacks – whether it be out of my bag, the fridge, whatever. As Levi encouraged the Surge group last night, why isn’t our spiritual hunger the same? And why don’t we plan to fill that spiritual hunger just like we would our human/physical hunger? His challenge to the kids was to “get that bread!” and commit to praying 3 times per day over the next 30 days. So…that’s what we’ll be doing. Join us? JGod, I’m grateful for a Father that chases hard after my heart. For a gracious Father who scoops us up when our heart and flesh fail. May my hunger, my desire for you be insatiable…even more so than my craving for Reese’s peanut butter cups. :)And, as I seek you today, fill me. Fill me to overflowing, with love and graciousness; may it be tangible to those I encounter and may their hearts be turned to you. ReiTo check out the discussion or to join in click here.