Where Is God In Uncertain Times?
Psalm 73
Introduction
During my visit down to Irvine, dropping off my daughter Shannon at her college, I hurt my shoulder. I couldn’t swing it around, I had trouble lifting it above my header, and I had trouble reaching back to get my wallet. Now this is a real problem when you have a child going to college, because the role of a college parent is to remove wallet, invert, shake out contents and repeat as often as necessary. And here I was, on the day of my daughter moving in and I could not reach my wallet.[wallet illustration. each person is asked to take out their wallet and give it to the person in one row ahead of them or back. I learned this from a John Ortberg book.]
Feeling a little nervous? Now we’re going to have an offering…
Feeling a little curious? What have you got in your wallet? [curious about another person/status]
[give wallets back]
Your wallet is important. Each of the little cards inside prove who you are, who you know and what you can do. [examples]
But these are uncertain times. It is the age of giving and receiving layoffs. My company laid off several people last week. My neighbor closed her two Massage Envy franchises, her house is for sale and she is moving back in with her mother. Teachers are receiving pink slips and only some get new jobs. House values are sinking, cars are breaking down, family is at the doctor’s office, bills keep piling up on the kitchen table. What do we do? We ask ourselves, “Is there something wrong with me?” [pause]
And it is good to ask these kinds of questions. When life seems to be going against us, we should check our hearts and our lives to see what kind of adjustments we need to make. Is God trying to teach me something? Has God been speaking to me, trying to get my attention, first with a whisper, but as I continue to ignore his voice, he keeps turning up the volume until now, with what is happening in my life, maybe, I will finally listen to him.
1. In Uncertain Times, Practice Contentment
In uncertain times, we need to practice contentment. But, envy will poison contentment. When our life is hard, our credit card bills are large, our paychecks are small, it is overwhelming. But when we look around at other people, they don’t seem to be suffering. They have enough paycheck at the end of th month. What is their secret?In Psalm 73, the author starts looking around.
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. – Psalm 73:1-3
The author of the psalm has a theory. It’s a very simple theory. It’s a theory I’ve heard from a lot of people. It goes like this:- God is good.
- God wants us to be “pure”, good people.
- God is generous.
- God will reward the pure people—the good people—and, punish the bad people.
If we examined each of those statements, they seem self-evidently true. God is good. God wants us to be good people. God is generous. God will judge and reward. But when we look around the world today and we look at who has all the bennys; who has all the cheddar; who has all the dinero; who has the cars; the houses; the good looks or the money for good looks—it really doesn’t seem like the good people are at the front of the line. In fact, the opposite is true. Who gets the promotion at work? The smart, hard-working, helpful guy *or* the kiss-up, back-biting, political guy? Who gets elected in politics? The self-less and humble and truthful? Or the self-promoting lying and proud? TV stars? Rock stars? Seriously. What is the ratio between rip-off artist CEOs and honest business owners? Even lottery tickets. Please Lord, can’t I just buy one lottery ticket? If I win, I won’t waste it, Lord, like those other losers. I promise, I’ll tithe.
So, what do we conclude? Is the Bible unrealistic? Or, is there another answer? [pause]
We’ll come back to this question later. But first I want to look at one of the great enemies of happiness in the Christian life: envy. Verse 2 says “But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold, for I envied the arrogant…” When I start to look around and compare, I lose my happiness. Because all of a sudden, my kids, my wife, my job, my house, my car, my position—they aren’t good enough. Suddenly, I won’t be happy unless I have this thing. I won’t be happy until I have this experience. I won’t be happy until I have this respect, or position. God has given you everything you need to live the life he wants you to have, right now. If you really need something more, you ask and God will give it.
The author says, "my feet had almost slipped." How many times have we compared, and rather than turning away from envy, we plunged in? How many times have we stood at the edge of that decision, and fallen over, because our minds were preoccupied with what they possess or have accomplished, and we have not. When you start to compare, you are on dangerous, slippery ground.
The Bible says: “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” – 1 Timothy 6:6. Did you catch that? You are rich when you are content with what you do have, accompanied by the right attitude. Stop comparing! Stop looking at what you don’t have and look at what God has already given you. Practice contentment.
2. In Uncertain Times, Choose God’s Plan A
In uncertain times, choose God’s plan A for your life.
In the next verses, we see the world’s picture of a “good life”. But, it is a lie. It is a lie because the world’s picture of success says it is possible to have a “good life” without becoming a “good person”
Look at the list in the next part of Psalm 73, from verses 4-12.
| Verse | False Definitions of Success |
| Verse 4: They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. | They just glide through life, never having to struggle, always healthy. |
| Verse 5: They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. | They never suffer all of the same problems as I do. |
| Verse 6-7: Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. | They can do whatever they want, and never have to worry about the consequences. |
| Verse 8-9: They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. | They can say whatever they want and get away with it. |
| Verse 10: Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. | They have all sorts of friends who always want to be around them. |
| Verse 11: They say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?” | They don’t have to worry about the rules; they don’t have to worry about what God thinks. |
| Verse 12: This is what the wicked are like—always carefree, they increase in wealth. | They never worry about anything and always have extra money. |
These versions paint a picture of what wonderful life “they” have. But does anyone actually have a life like that? No! I have a friend who works for the FBI. He has worked on numerous investigations, dealing with extremely wealthy people who try to have the “good life” without being “good people” And his conclusion, after seeing their lives, is that they are extremely unhappy. We envy the movie stars, the sports stars, the CEOs when they their lives are such a train wreck? [Will Smith]
The devil uses this lie over and over. And we fall for it, because when life is painful, we will do almost anything to stop the pain. When life is tough, and we see others who seem to have no problems, we envy them and will do almost anything to have what they have.
Early in Jesus’ ministry, the devil took Jesus to the top of a high mountain, showed him everything in the world and said: Jesus, this could all be yours—all of it. No pain, no cross, everybody loves you, all the world is yours—the only little thing you need to do is just worship me. The same lie: you can have the “good life” Jesus without having to being a good person. But Jesus said, “No!”
So, in uncertain times, choose God’s Plan A, avoid the devil’s Plan B. There is no “good life” without being a “good person”
3. In Uncertain Times, Don’t Try To Manipulate God
In uncertain times, don’t try to manipulate God. Listen to what it says in verses 13-16.
Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me. – Psalm 73:13-16.
Do you hear the whine in his voice? What is he saying? God, I’ve been a good boy. I went to church; I didn’t kill anybody; I gave money; I kept my promises. And look at my life! God, I’ve been so good that you owe me a good life. My good actions have put God in my debt! We try to control God.Does God owe me anything? Does he owe you anything? No. Anything good that we have in our lives is because God decided to give it, not because we deserve it. That’s grace. God’s grace is his smile upon your life, not because you pleased him, but because he chose to love you.
And God will do whatever it takes to make you into a good person. Whatever. It. Takes. He already sent Jesus to save you. He sends the Holy Spirit to change you. Your character is more important to him than your comfort. A good person can have a good life in any situation.
There is another point here: Do we only want God to get the stuff? Is God the giant vending machine in the sky? Put in your prayer, or your tithe, or your good deed, push the button and out comes a blessing? Or do we want God for who he is. Imagine if our kids said to us: Daddy, look what a good girl I’ve been, now give me a candy bar. Mommy, I love you, now can I have a new car? Love God, not the stuff that he gives us. In uncertain times, don’t try to manipulate God.
4. In Uncertain Times, Stay Close To God
In fact, in uncertain times, stay close to God. Verse 17 marks a turning point in the psalm. till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. – Psalm 73:17
‘Till I entered the sanctuary of God’ Trying to figure out why sometimes the bad people get the good stuff and the good people get the bad stuff made him crazy. Till he entered the sanctuary of God. What was in the ‘sanctuary of God’? God was. Many times when we are in doubt or we are confused or we don’t understand, the answer is to come close to God, to go to church, to be with God’s people and listen to God’s word. Not because he always explains the answer, but so that we can at least trust the one who has the answer: God. That’s why the Bible saysDelight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. – Psalm 37:4
If you delight yourself in the Lord, what do you want most? You want God! Then it says God will give you the desire of your heart. That’s God. The good life is the God life. If God is your delight—if God is your “good life”—it is permanent. But if you try to get the “good life” by a shortcut, listen to what the Bible says in Psalm 73:18-20:
Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies. – Psalm 73:18-20
Let me show what happens to the “good life” without being a good person. [bubbles illustration. blow bubbles and notice how beautiful and large they are. Then track the progress of a few long-lasting bubbles, express dismay that they pop. Then try again. The fate of the bubbles is like the fate of the proud, 100%]Here are five benefits of staying close to God in uncertain times:
- God comforts in the pain, struggles and heartache. Verse 21 says “When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant… Yet I am always with you, you hold me by my right hand.” – vs. 21-23
- God gives you guidance through uncertain times. The first part of verse 24 says “You guided me with your counsel…”
- God guarantees your future past uncertain times. The rest of verse 24 says, “…and afterward you will take me into glory.”
- God gives you strength to get through uncertain times. Verse 26 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
- God protects you from uncertain times. Verse 28 says, “But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge.”
The story is told of a man who was walking across the road when he was hit by a car. The impact knocked him on his head which caused him to be in a coma for a couple of days before he finally regained consciousness. When he opened his eyes, his loving wife was there beside his bed holding his hand.When life is bad and you can’t find a way out and all of your mistakes seem to come back and hurt you, we can look at God in one of two ways: either we can thank God for being there with us through all of it, or we can blame him, like that husband with Judy.He said, "You know, Judy, you’ve always been right by my side. When I was a struggling college student, I failed again and again. But you were always there with me, encouraging me to go on trying."He said, "And when I got out of school and went for all of my interviews and failed to get any of the jobs, you stayed right there with me, cutting out more classifieds for me to check on..."“Then I started work at this little firm and finally got the chance to handle a big contract. But I blew it because of one little mistake, and yet you were there beside me all the way. Then I finally got another job after being laid off for sometime. But I never seemed to be promoted and my hard work was never recognized. And so, I remained in the same position from the day I joined the company until now... And, through it all, you were right there by my side."Her eyes are starting to fill with tears as she listens. He says, "And now I’ve been in this accident and when I woke up, you’re the first person I see. There’s something I’ll really like to say to you...."He said, "Judy, I think you’re just plain bad luck!" – ChurchLeaders.com, Jonathan Goats, retrieved 09/24/11
Some of us have read in the Bible where it says: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” But we don’t always remember why God had to say that:
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5
How can I be content? Here are three things you can practice right now:
- Gratitude. Stop right now and write down 9 things that you are thankful for; 9 blessings in your life. Names of people, recent events, unexpected good things, small or big. 30 seconds to write down 9 things. Are you blessed? Now, say it with me: God, you blessed me. God, you blessed me.
- Give. Find some way to give what you have: time, money, resources, encouragement to someone else each day this week. When you give, you are showing that you are not poor; because you have enough to give away. You already listed 9 blessings you received from God. Turn around and give blessings away. If you hold blessings tightly, they become rotten. But when you give your blessings away, you make more room for God to bless you again.
- Gather. Gather together with God’s people. The Psalmist said ‘Till I entered the sanctuary of God.’ Sometimes we lost track of what is really important in life. But God’s people can help you remember. Sitting around the table, sharing a meal, sharing your problems and listening for God speaking through other brothers and sisters, and through the Bible helps give us perspective.
Did you know, you can survive up to 8 weeks without food. You can survive about 11 days without sleep. You can survive up to 3-5 days without water. You can survive 4 minutes without oxygen. But for all of us, the day is coming when no amount of food or sleep or water or oxygen can save us. Then we discover that the one thing we need is: Jesus. Death comes for us all, now or five minutes from now, or five years or fifty years, but it comes. And when it comes, you cannot survive death without Jesus. Jesus is the one thing you really need. Death came after Jesus by the cross, the grave swallowed him up, but on the third day, it could not keep him, it had indigestion and he came back to life.
Maybe you have come today and you realize that you have trying to have the “good life” without being a “good person”. The Bible says there is no good person—none righteous, not even one—unless you surrender to God and let God make you a new person inside. Maybe you know that you need God more than anything else. The Bible says, “He who has the son, has life; he who does not have the son of God does not have life.” – 1 John 5:12
If that is you, you can pray to God and tell him: “God, I cannot be a good person. But I know Jesus died and came back to life so that he can change me into that good person. I want to do things your way from now on and live your lifestyle so that when death comes for me, you will give me life forever. Amen” If you prayed that prayer now, or you pray it later by yourself, make sure you tell somebody.
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