God Doesn’t Give Up on Us
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me up in glory.” Psalm 73:23,24 HCSB
Life can bring its share of frustrations and contradictions. There are the inequities of life, the injustices of life, the questions that seem to defy answers.
This is one of my favorite psalms because of its “gut wrenching” honesty. The psalmist begins by expressing his angst with the dichotomy between the righteous and the wicked. “For I envied the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.…Did I purify my heart and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?” (Psalm 73:3,13 HCSB)
Between these verses is the description of the seemingly “good” life of the wicked in spite of their actions and attitudes. It even makes the psalmist question his own faithfulness to the Lord. He views the life of the wicked as a life of “ease” and his own life as one of “affliction.”
We see clearly the downward spiral when we become engulfed in our own thoughts and our own world and our own perception. What changes the outlook of the psalmist? “When I tried to understand all this, it seemed hopeless
 until I entered God’s sanctuary. Then I understood their destiny.” (Psalm 73:16,17 HCSB)
When we come into God’s presence, when we are confronted with God’s truth, when we understand the issue is about ultimate destiny, and our thoughts are elevated beyond this life. Just before understanding God’s abiding presence and His eternal plan, the psalmist says of himself, “I was stupid and didn’t understand; I was an unthinking animal toward You…Yet I am always with You….” (Psalm 73:22 HCSB)
Even when our thoughts lead us to wrong conclusion, we can understand that the Lord is with us. He is sympathetic to our limited understanding of this human existence. We can be confident that the Lord guides and the Lord provides for His own as He lead us to our ultimate destiny. “You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me up in glory.” (Psalm 73:24 HCSB)
As the psalm comes to an end the focus is changed from the temporal to the eternal. “But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all You do.” (Psalm 73:28 HCSB)
Prayer for today… Lord, help me to focus on what I can rely upon; Your presence, Your faithfulness to guide and Your promise of an eternal destiny with You. In all that life brings may I find my refuge in You and share with others of the hope that is found in You alone.