I’ve been reading through Psalm 73 and have been struck by a few things. The psalmist has a strong desire, a personal interpretation, a new realization, and a new way of living.

A Strong Desire

Notice what Asaph (the psalmist) begins by saying about his desire. He envied the arrogant (Psalm 73:3). He noticed that wicked people prospered. They were healthy. They had plenty to eat. They died without pain. They had lots of money. But they also were violent, proud, and spoke against God.

A Personal Interpretation

What conclusion does Asaph come to? He followed God for nothing. All his piety didn’t do him any good. He thinks, “Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence” (Psalm 73:13). How did he come to this conclusion? He looked at some facts: wicked people prospered while he suffered for living under God’s rule. Notice that his conclusions were only based on what he could see. Was God’s perspective part of his thinking here? No. We need to let God’s Word speak where life hurts.

A New Realization

We see that Asaph’s view chanced by the end of the psalm. But what happened to bring that about? He went into God’s sanctuary. That would have been God’s temple back in the day. He took time to seek God about his problems. God met him there, in a way. God showed Asaph that He planned to destroy the wicked people Asaph envied. Their wealth and health would do no good on that day. There were merely targets set up to be shot at the appropriate time. How often do you get away from your day-to-day life to get God’s perspective on things? Are there any areas where you are interpreting your circumstances based only on what you see? Perhaps you need to set aside some time to get God’s perspective on your life.

A New Way Of Living

What a difference we see in Asaph’s life! He went from nearly rejecting his faith in God (Psalm 73:2) to treasuring God above all things (Psalm 73:25-28). I don’t know about you, but I want that kind of change in my life! I want to value God above all other treasures, because any other treasure is merely dust in comparison with the treasure in God. Let’s pray that we would become like Asaph!