"You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Psalm 73:24-26

Psalm 73 reinforces the major message which flows through Psalms 1–72, that godliness does not mean relying upon our own strength or resources, but relying on God: what the psalmists constantly called ‘taking refuge’ in God. In Psalm 73, however, a questioning note enters. Why do the wicked prosper? Why doesn’t God act?

The psalmist experienced that the ‘wicked’ were healthy, happy, strong, and carefree (vs 3–12). Envy of them almost destroyed him (vs 2,3). Was it all an illusion? Had he kept his heart pure for no purpose? (v 13). Then the psalmist found ‘sanctuary’ (v 17), a place where he could face himself and how he was acting before God: ‘I was a brute beast before you’ (v 22). He saw that nothing on earth should matter to him but God. His flesh and heart may fail, but God would never fail him (v 26). Fleetingly, his mind reaches for the answer in an unnamed eternity: ‘afterwards you will take me into glory … my portion forever’ (vs 24,26). Finally, he knows that God is all he needs: ‘it is good to be near God’ (v 28).

APPLY

Ask the Lord of all to help you in times of doubt. The Lord never fails. You can know he is always near.

CLOSING PRAYER

I confess, Jesus, that there are times when I am wearied by life’s challenges—personal, national, global—that seem impossible to overcome. Help me to keep focused on you and your promise to be with me and for me, and to overcome.

(Edited from Encounter with God)