There’s a stop sign that’s been having a really hard time lately. It even made it on the news. This ordinary stop sign in the state of Maine has been crashed into at least 130 times. The same stop sign. 130 crashes. That’s a lot! Can you guess where this stop sign is located? In a Walmart parking lot. No surprise, huh? Still, it’s hard to explain. The police chief suggests that maybe “the pole marks a focal point in the earth’s gravitational pull which causes vehicles to inherently veer into it.” That poor pole. Can you imagine how frustrating that must be? 130 crashes.
I bet you can. I bet you’ve felt like that pole. Everything crashing into you. If something’s going to go wrong, whom is it going to go wrong for? You. If somebody’s going to get hit, who’s it going to be? You. Ever look around and see all the other stop signs and think: How come nobody ever runs into them? How come things are always happening to me? Have you ever been that frustrated? There’s a song in the Bible for that: It’s Psalm 73. If you’ve ever complained to God about how frustrating life is, you’ve got nothing on Asaph. Let’s read together verses 1-12:
Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.
They are free from common human burdens;
they are not plagued by human ills.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
their evil imaginations have no limits.
They scoff, and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression.
Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.
They say, “How would God know?
Does the Most High know anything?”
This is what the wicked are like—
always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. (Psalm 73:1-12 NIV)
I so appreciate the Bible’s honesty. Ever complained against God? You’re not alone. Asaph’s complaint ended up in the Bible. He doesn’t hold back. “As for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.” Asaph was so frustrated that he almost fell away from God. This was serious! What was the big problem? “For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” He was envious. Of what? Wicked people have it so good. Bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people. It’s downright wrong! It’s so frustrating!
Asaph makes a big list of frustrations: “They don’t get sick. They don’t have to worry. They have everything they want. They mistreat people. They hurt people. They are so proud, and yet everybody loves them. Everybody praises them. Everybody flocks to listen to them. Ahh! I can’t stand it!” “This is what the wicked are like—always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.” “Why do I struggle to pay my bills, and they have a mansion on the beach? Why does a Christian die of a stroke, while he lives to be 100? Why do people ignore me and pay so much attention to her? Why does that little boy have cancer, and that jerk have perfect health?” Ever think that?
I wonder if Christians in Malawi are reading this psalm today. Have you heard what’s happened in Malawi, Africa? A cyclone went through, and the flooding washed entire villages away. Hundreds are confirmed dead. Thousands lost what little they had to begin with. Yet, it doesn’t even make our news. Who cares? Malawi is where our Wisconsin Synod has one of its largest missions. There are thousands of Lutherans in Malawi, and some of them have certainly been impacted. Can you imagine having a hut, just a hut, and then having your hut washed away, with your children in it? And seeing pictures of America and hearing about the moral decay here, and wondering, “How is it that we poor Christians in Africa get poorer, and the people who are turning away from God get richer and richer?” It’s enough to make you doubt your faith.
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.
All day long I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments. (Psalm 73:13-14 NIV)
Asaph bares his heart. He’s seriously considering throwing in the towel. “What’s the point? Why believe in God? Why make any sacrifices for Christianity? It’s all in vain. It’s not worth it. Doing the right thing just ends up in worse punishments than doing the wrong thing. It’s time to give up!” How many Christians over the past thousands of years have wrestled with that same question? “It’s not worth it. It’s so unfair. It’s too frustrating. I’m not doing this anymore. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure.” But right when he was ready to give up on God, Asaph had a sudden realization. Right in the middle of the psalm, everything suddenly changes.
If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.
Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!
They are like a dream when one awakes;
when you arise, Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies. (Psalm 73:15-20 NIV)
Life didn’t make any sense, until Asaph did one thing. Did you catch it? He “entered the sanctuary of God.” He went to God, and he suddenly realized something: “Then I understood their final destiny.” Life only makes sense if you understand the final destiny. For the wicked, for anyone who rejects Jesus as their Savior, what’s the final destiny? “You place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!” What’s the final destiny for unbelievers? Hell. Is that worth it?
Is it worth it to have a mansion on the beach and then die and go to hell? Is it worth it to have perfect health and live to be 100 and then die and go to hell? Is it worth it to have everyone love you and praise you and then die and go to hell? Is it worth it to live for pleasure and doing whatever you want whenever you want all the time and then die and go to hell? Is that worth it? Jesus once said, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36). If you get frustrated by how this world goes, remember the final destiny: Hell.
Or heaven. Is it worth it to live day-by-day, trusting in the grace of God, and then die and go to heaven? Is it worth it to lose friendships for the sake of Christ and then die and go to heaven? Is it worth it to use your time and treasures to serve God and others and then die and go to heaven? Is it worth it to live a humble life of faith in Jesus and then die and go to heaven? Yes! Life doesn’t make sense until you enter the sanctuary of God and understand the final destiny.
When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you. (Psalm 73:21-22)
Not only did Asaph realize what was waiting for him in heaven, but he recognized what he needed to confess. All of his complaints against God, all of his frustrations, as right as they felt, as justified as they seemed, what was he actually? A brute beast. A donkey. A ________ (you fill in the blank.) “Oh God, I’m an idiot. I’m sorry. Forgive my sin.” I hope those words are a regular part of your vocabulary. “Oh God, I’m an idiot. I’m sorry. Forgive my sin.” And God does.
Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
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 73:23-26)
I’ve always thought these are some of the most beautiful words in the whole Bible. It would be hard to find a better confession of faith. “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 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.” What confidence in God’s grace!
How does someone get that? How do you get a faith as strong as that? Only through the struggle. Only through the frustration. Do you see how God uses the trials of life to fortify our faith in him? Over and over again, Asaph had to rely on the promises of God. What else did he have? Over and over again, Asaph had to lean on the LORD. Where else could he turn? Over and over again, Asaph had to come to God with nothing. And be filled up over and over again with the grace of God. Until he finally realized that nothing could separate him from God’s love.
What a blessing all these frustrations are. Can you say that? What a blessing our struggles are. Because they strip away everything else our hearts love to rely on. They strip away everything else our hearts love to follow. And what’s left? God. He is enough. Not only is he enough. He is everything. “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.”
So here was Asaph’s final conclusion: Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds. (Psalm 73:27-28 NIV)
There are two certainties in life: Those who are unfaithful to God will be destroyed. Sometimes in this life. Always in the next. But God is with those who trust in him. Always in this life. Always in the next. Asaph went from complaining to proclaiming God’s grace to everyone.
What’s the key? “It is good to be near God.” That phrase makes me think of one of Jesus’ names. It’s a name we usually think of at Christmastime: “God with us.” How do you say that in Hebrew? Immanuel. “It is good to be near God.” That’s only possible because God came near to us. He became one of us. We celebrate that at Christmas. God was born a man. But maybe we should celebrate that even more during Lent and Holy Week and Easter. How close did God get?
Just look at the cross. Jesus didn’t just tip his toe into the dark waters of humanity. He didn’t just walk along the edge like you walk along the beach. He jumped in headfirst to save us. He lived with us. He carried our burdens. And then he carried our sins to his cross. If that one stop sign in Maine has had to endure 130 cars crashing into it, imagine feeling the weight of the guilt of every single person’s sins pressing down on you. Jesus did. He did it for us. Imagine hearing every complaint and every curse and every boast ringing in your ears. Jesus did. He did it for us.
So that there could be no doubt that God is near to you. “But as for me, it is good to be near God.” What’s ironic is that it doesn’t sound like Asaph’s life got any better. It doesn’t sound like anything changed at all. Everything still seemed to go right for the wicked. Everything still seemed to go wrong for him. But suddenly it didn’t matter so much anymore. Why? God was near to him. And the strength and forgiveness and unfailing love of God was enough. Always.
When whatever can go wrong keeps going wrong… When all the wrong people continue to succeed… When one thing after another keeps crashing into you… Remember the final destiny. There is a song in God’s Word for a frustrated heart. And it goes like this: “It is good to be near God.” “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.”
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