God is Good all the Time

                                                                Psalm 73:1, 22-28 

Psalm 73:1 “A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.”

What a wonderful start to a Psalm, right? He says, God is good to Israel and, in fact, He is good to all the righteous. One can almost believe the author is about to ask the reader for a response. Today there is a phrase that elicits this type of responsive participation. It begins with one person saying, “God is good” and those hearing this universal truth respond with, “All the time.” And it’s commonly repeated at least one more time. Unfortunately, our author was not in quite so happy a mood. If you take the time to read verses 2-21 it becomes clear that he was ranting against the wicked and especially the wealthy wicked. He was frustrated that it seemed as though they had it made in this world. They seemed to get away with all forms of ungodliness and then were also able to live in the lap of luxury without a care in this world.

Today, we say God is good. But do we really believe it? Or, are we in lockstep with the Psalmist allowing doubts to arise in our hearts? Wickedness prevails in this world today. It seems to be worse today than it has ever been in any other time in history. Do you ever find yourself asking, “Where is God?” Or even thinking about the ungodly wealthy as the psalmist did, “They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.” That seems to be precisely what Asaph, the author of this psalm, has done.

At some point his heart catches up with his intellect. It is then that this passage takes a very radical turn. I am wondering how many of us need to have one more look around. How many need to re-evaluate what they believe they are seeing? Listen now as the Psalmist reconsiders his own statements.

Psa 73:22 “So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. (v.23) Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. (v.24) Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. (v.25) Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. (v.26) My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. (v.27) For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. (v.28) But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.”

Now he truly hears his own complaints and in verse 22 is honestly remorseful, (I paraphrase) “How could I have been so foolish and ignorant: I was acting no wiser than a common animal.” It is with this very revelation of his own foolishness that he unfolds before us some precious truths. In verse 23, he says that we are always with God. We have never been without the presence of God. We do not know the awfulness of His absence. And He is holding us in His kind and loving right hand. He guides us (v.24) with His holy and righteous counsel and when all else fails and this life finally ends, our end will be with God in His eternal glory. Verse 25 declares the all sufficiency of His Divine nature. Of all who are in Heaven now there is only one who will have the attention of this Psalmist. And on earth there is only one who now commands his undivided attention. In heaven or in earth the presence of God is his reality. In verse 26 his focus shifts to the temporal nature of these bodies. He is fully aware that this flesh is going to decay. But now, in God he recognizes that everything he is, and all he will ever need, is His Heavenly Father. And in verse 27 he briefly reflects again on the wealthy wicked. But this time reality permeates his thoughts. The truth of their condition is unsettling, the wicked will perish but it is even worse than that. All of those who were unsaved and putting others or other things in the place of God in their lives will be destroyed. They will face the final Judgment of a Holy and righteous God.

In our final verse, verse 28, he makes a marvelous discovery; he is divinely illuminated. After such a tirade against the ungodly of this world, and after considering God’s hand in his own life Asaph has a personal revelation. He finally understands that his focus should not have been on the evil of this world. Instead, he needed to stop and look at everything God has already done for him, and to begin seeing what God does for us every day that we are alive.

Once he was able to shift his view from the ‘successful sinners’ of this world and refocus on the daily goodness of God in our lives his entire outlook changed. And with this new outlook he was able to give to each of us this single rule for life: “But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.”

Draw near to God, trust Him and share Him with others. God is good…all the time.

Racial Pride

 

Racial Pride

                         It is amazing to me that there is so much emphasis on pride when it comes to race in a society that says it is against racism. If we are not to be prideful about our race, then shouldn’t we just be silent about our race? But the underlying issues go much deeper than pride or silence.

                         I would appreciate you thinking for just a moment. Really, I want you to honestly think about my next question. When, at what specific point in time, did you decide the year of your birth? I don’t ask that in order to be comedic. It is an honest question. When did you decide which era to be born in? Was the 20^th or 21^st  century your first choice? There really are a lot of conveniences that come with this era. I mean really, if you had decided on 317a.d. you wouldn’t have had an XBOX not to mention the total lack of espresso. Now had you decided on 1427a.d. there would have been some conveniences over 317a.d. but still it would not have been the modern society we have today. So, you made a good choice. You decided to be born in the late 1900’s to early 2000’s. Right?

                         Ok, well maybe not. But you did decide to be born into a wealthy family of British royalty. Not British? OK, maybe you chose to be the child of an American icon. At least you didn’t choose poverty. Right?

                         Possibly some of those options were not available to you. However, since there is so much pride in race we can certainly understand you choice of continents. The Asian continent is certainly a better choice than the Artic. And if not there then you would certainly have chosen the European over the South American. Right?

                         Is this stupid enough yet? Prior to your birth you had no choices at all. You did not choose to be born in any era. You could have been born in 317a.d. just as easily as 2067a.d. And you could have been born in poverty as easily as in royalty. You had no choices. You could have been born an Eskimo, a Russian, a Pigmy, or even a giant brother to Goliath. All choices were completely out of your control. You came into awareness after you were born and simply realized, “Wow, I live here with these people. And I am going to have to deal with it.”

                         If you do not believe in God, then it was all random chance, and you have nothing to be proud of. If you, as I do, believe in God then there was a real divine purpose every step of the way. But again, my pride is replaced with His purpose. I have nothing I can be prideful about concerning my birth. Either it was random chance or it was Divine design. Either way pride goes out the window.

                         We are all people created by God. We can take no credit for our existence in time, location or status. God decided where we would be born, when we would be born and in what circumstance we would enter this life. God created people. Is He partial to any one skin tone more than another? Does He love one class of society more? God is the redeemer of all. And all come to Him for grace and redemption regardless of status or race. When the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” there were no exceptions or stipulations. He meant “whosoever.”

                         No matter you status in society or your national heritage, God loves you and wants to save you. You do not have to spend eternity in hell. Unlike your choice of skin color, your eternity is your choice. God is calling out to save you, BUT THAT CHOICE IS YOURS.