LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for October 25: When I have doubts

In the difficult journey called the human life, many paths are chosen. Along the way, progress is naturally evaluated. Doubts certainly challenge daily progress. Doubts also arise when progress in life is evaluated. Daily struggles in commitment to the Lord confront us and naturally believers want to be assured of progress. When ones’ life inventory is compared to those of nonbelievers, the apparent worldly success of nonbelievers can bring to the surface doubts regarding the fruits of one’s commitment.

At the core of this issue is perhaps the unrealized thought that believers should enjoy regular doses of worldly rewards. A dangerous assumption is that worldly prosperity directly reflects one’s status before God. Considerable harm can arise from assessing one’s commitment to God by a comparison with those who practice evil. Psalm 73 explores the issues that arise from the conviction of earthly rewards for spiritual status.

Psalm 73 is one of the darkest and most soul-searching psalms in the Bible. It purposefully examines the core of commitment and sets the record straight on some spiritual principles as well as faulty views of life. The key term in Psalm 73 is the heart, the seat of human will and determination. The heart is referenced in verses 1, 7, 13, 21 and 26. The three sections of the psalm provide various revelations regarding the human heart. As the writer progresses, darkness slowly gives way to light and answers are found in the renewal of commitment.

Confront your doubts (Psalm 73:1-5, 12)

Verse 1 presents the overriding truth that the Lord is good to those who are pure in heart. Here purity of heart has to do with the wholesomeness of commitment. The grand statement that God is good to the pure in heart allows for the remainder of the psalm to contemplate various understandings of what God’s goodness can mean.

Problems arose for the psalmist when he viewed the prosperity of the wicked. The prosperity of the wicked presented a powerful lure away from commitment to the Lord. The poetry of verse 2 describes the wavering the psalm writer experienced in his commitment. Verse 3 explains that envy of the prosperity of evil nearly caused him to slip in his commitment.

Verses 3-12 describe the seeming prosperity of the wicked. The description of their evil character is lengthy, using words like arrogant, pride, conceit and calloused hearts. Their prosperity is so apparently complete that they seem to have no concerns or insecurities. At the same time, they can act with violence without concern for reprisals.

The alarming core of the problem naturally is the heart itself, what the psalmist has examined in himself. The hearts of the wicked ones are calloused by their involvement in evil. Their evil hearts burst forth with a variety of vocal claims in verses 7-9. Verse 9 states the evil ones actually claim heaven to be in their favor, raising again the problem with which the psalmist wrestled.

The appearance of heaven’s blessing upon the wicked is strongly compelling. Worldly residents yield to the will of the wicked, seeking the same perks for themselves. The reality of the wicked hearts is seen in verse 11 which records the taunting questions the wicked aim at heaven. These taunts will be answered in verses 18-19 with the destruction of the wicked.

This section holds quite a list of characteristics of the wicked. The implication is that they seemingly are rewarded with prosperity. This provides a compelling, but false, reason to doubt the wisdom of committing to follow the Lord. The wicked still operate the same today. Believers and observers of the faith also react with envy to the successes of the evil world. But things are not as they seem.

Change your perspective (Psalm 73:13-20)

Now the writer looks at his own life and presents the contrast he sees. Verse 13 answers verse 1 with a lament. The pursuit of the purity of heart has not helped the writer, so he thinks. Verses 13-16 explain his unprosperous predicament. Even the attempt to understand his situation has not helped the writer.

But things change in verse 17 when the writer approached God. The location is the temple, representing worship in the presence of the Lord. It is marvelous how worship settings prove answers to issues that plague God’s people. Worship draws God and his answers follow.

God’s perspective now can be seen. Verse 18 corresponds to verse 2. The writer thought he was slipping in his walk, yet it is the wicked who truly slip and are destroyed. They are deliberately led to slippery ground so that they slide into ruin. Thus God truly answers the lifestyle and taunts of the wicked, though the downfall of evil is not popularly understood. In the end, the wicked have nothing, and God has been vindicated.

Affirm spiritual values (Psalm 73:25-28)

Realizing the change in fortunes of the wicked, now the psalmist takes inventory of his life with God. God’s comforting presence always is with him. This is far more valuable than any of the riches the wicked enjoy. The writer is guided by the Lord’s counsel as well. The climax of the psalm comes in verse 25 which the writer makes his claim about heaven: “Whom have I in heaven but you?” The wicked of verse 11 think they taunt an ignorant God. The psalm writer celebrates God’s able advocacy of his cause. God’s blessing in life is not measured by worldly prosperity but by God’s welcome goodness and presence in the lives of his people.

Verse 26 answers verse 2, revealing the slipping in the writer’s life is a matter of the heart and the body, but the reality is that the Lord is present to help the writer succeed in his commitment whereas the wicked are destroyed. By verse 28, the writer has risen above his issue, cherishing the Lord’s presence and proclaiming his deeds.