My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 73:23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
Psalm 73:24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Asaph has been through a struggle. From temptation through inner trials and finally to a final triumph through a realization of the glories of God and his own sinfulness. He has finally settled in a good place. A place of rest, of peace before the Lord, and a deeper understanding his place before God.
Four areas of blessing are realized by this man of faith.
Security
While Asaph was in his struggle, watching the rich get richer, the wealthy dodge judgement, the prosperous avoiding discomfort and pain, Asaph was struggling to keep his heart pure. At times, I imagine his heart was not quite hitting the mark, slightly less pure than the desired goal! A bit impure, a bit jealous of the lost, a bit envious. And we know the seriousness of envy. It is the precursor to full blown idolatry.
Yes – Asaph was dancing with dangerous partners when he envied the ways of the rich. Even in his wanderings, Asaph confesses that the Lord was his security, his faithful God, his only hope through the dark, the hand that was ever present in his life.
Guidance
Asaph may have been breaching this topic in our previous verse when he speaks of God holding his right hand. He comes out and clearly states the guiding ability and performance of God in his life, specifically speaking of God’s counsel.
Counsel is another word for advice, and the Scriptures give abundant testimony to the wisdom of receiving counsel.
In Asaph’s specific case, I lean to understanding his referencing the inner counsel that he eventually became attuned to as he entered the sanctuary of God. To my fellow believers, we know that in the still quietness, if we are willing to hear, the Lord will provide guidance in alignment with his revealed Word.
As an aside to this topic, it is wise for the believer to consider the importance of counsel from other believers. I have for too long sought only the inner counsel, without allowing for believers to give guidance. Proverbs addresses this truth numerous times.
Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance, a people falls,
but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.
Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel plans fail,
but with many advisers they succeed.
Proverbs 24:6 for by wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
One note of clarity. The word speaks of a multitude of counsellors. Having one counsellor may be the equivalent of having an echo chamber. Not wise at all. Be wise and get bunches of counsel!
Sufficiency
What is it for something to be sufficient? Does it imply that for something or someone to be sufficient is the availability of everything you could imagine? Is it a way to denote that all things are good, or is it that nothing bad, or evil will enter my experience?
For something, or in Asaph’s case, for someone to be sufficient, simply means that God is enough. It is not referring to the limitless abilities of God to perform, provide or produce for His saint. For God to be sufficient for Asaph means that God is enough.
We humans are a temporal, time and space based creature. We are limited in every possible manner. We can’t even understand what it means to be limitlessness, to be eternal, to possess all powerful or all knowledge. We are limited creatures and have limited needs, though they may seem great to us as we live in our bubble.
God is bigger than our bubble!
Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
Though Paul speaks of God as being able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, for Asaph, his personal faith findings are that God is enough.
Paul spoke of the abilities of God, and they are truly limitless, but for sufficiency’s to be considered speaks the language of satisfaction, not abilities. Satisfaction of the saint’s deepest needs fulfilled in Christ. As for the wants of the believer, they may be ignored since they are but distractions, but that for which the saint was made for, satisfaction is found in God Himself. He satisfies the saint in areas he may not even understand!
There is a difference, and may I suggest that realizing the sufficiency, the “enoughness” of God in our hearts is a tremendous blessing for the believer to enter into.
Strength
My heart is ticking away. It has been ticking away for over 67 years. 2,817,995,627 beats, give or take. Close to three billion beats. That is crazy, and thankfully that ol’ ticker has never missed or skipped a beat!
That particular physical truth astounds me, and except for this past couple minutes, I have been blissfully ignorant of this exceptional display of the keeping power of God over my physical life.
How much more am I unaware of the strength God provides in the midst of trials and blessings, sickness and weakness, struggles and victories. One day, I will find out my incredible ignorance of God’s strength being provided to my insignificant life, the continual faithful infusion of His mighty hand, and His power provided despite my pride and arrogance.
To think I am the source and strength of all my blessings! Poppycock! (Of course, I blame Him for any and all my failures, but even in this, it shows my darkness of mind!)
He is my strength, especially in my weakness, in my realization that I have no real ability, no real strength, no real wisdom, knowledge or discernment. I could go on with what I am not, but to what profit?
He is our strength.
For Asaph, as he fought his way through this Psalm, and provides for us the wisdom he accrued through it, he can honestly say his head is screwed on straight now.
He is in a good place, seeing God for who God is, and Asaph for who Asaph is.
And all is good!
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Considering the Bible 