God's Glory Church

Every Christian’s faith is tested from time to time. At such moments, Christians often (they must admit it) begin to doubt God. This occurs due to the contradictions that arise: between faith and reason, the theory contained in the Bible and practice, that is, what we see in reality. Then we begin to ask God questions that He does not always answer.
Each of us is troubled by our own contradictions. For example, some people say: “If God is truly omnipotent and controls everything, then how does He allow this confusion to reign in the world and in our country? It seems that the devil has seized power on earth and controls everything.” Others doubt God’s love. They ask: “If God is good and just, then why is there so much injustice and why do the righteous suffer while the criminals live happily?”
Are there answers to these questions? Yes, they exist, and Scripture speaks about them. In Psalm 72, Asaph also faced a contradiction: reality contradicted what he believed. Asaph’s faith was shaken. “How good God is to Israel, to the pure in heart!” (v. 1) He believed that God is good to those who strive to live righteously, to those who keep God’s commandments. Let’s remember what God blessed in the Old Testament. First of all, health, offspring, wealth and peace in the country. Many Jews believed that by living righteously they could claim these blessings from God. Let us remember Job, who had all these blessings. And when God took them away, Job could not understand what was happening. His “good” friends said that there was only one reason and one explanation for everything – sin. If God takes away your blessings, then you have sinned.
“And I—my legs almost shook, my feet almost slipped.” (v. 2) Asaph’s faith was tested. He almost lost his faith, a picture familiar to all of us. What was the reason? “…I envied the foolish, seeing the prosperity of the wicked, for they have no suffering until their death, and their strength is strong…” (vv. 7-12) Asaph in these verses talks about what he saw in reality, and which was absolutely contrary to his faith. Не праведники, а нечестивые пользуются благословениями. They are healthy until old age. These people do not know what poverty, hunger and hard work are. They have everything and they succeed. These people are proud and vain, living only for their own pleasure. They do not think about God, and in their insolence they go so far as to say that God sees nothing and knows nothing. “If you say that God will punish us, then why doesn’t he do it? That means God doesn’t see anything.” “Therefore His people turn there, and drink water full of the cup” (v. 10). The people, seeing the impunity of the wicked, follow their example. This is what Asaph saw. He seems to be saying: “Let’s face it. God says one thing, but in life everything is different. Theory is not implemented in practice.” Asaph doubts whether God is really good to the pure in heart?
“Was it not in vain that I purified my heart and washed my hands in innocence, and exposed myself to stripes every day and to reproof every morning?” (vv. 13-14) Asaph does not hide his indignation. He expresses everything to God. “Isn’t everything you said a lie? You must be a deceiver?” If Asaph’s friends heard this, they would have thought: “Yes, he is an unbeliever. He sang in the choir for so many years, and now he speaks so boldly about God!” But Asaph did not say anything to anyone. He shared his doubts with God and shares them with us who read this psalm today.
Why was Asaph indignant? Maybe he was just a patriot, and he didn’t like what was happening in his country: the political and economic situation. Его не устраивало отношение к бедным и сиротам. But all this did not happen in one day. Lawlessness has happened before. Why then was Asaph not indignant? Asaph himself admits what caused his indignation. And I like him for his honesty. “I envied the foolish, seeing the prosperity of the wicked” (v. 3). The cause was sin. Envy. Asaph practically says: “If I had lived a little better, a little richer, if God had blessed me like others, then I would not have even thought of being indignant. Why did misfortunes fall on my head? Why me?” With all these thoughts and questions, Asaph went to the temple to pray. And God answered him. The Lord enlightened Asaph’s mind. “But if I had said, ‘I will reason thus,’ then I would have been guilty before the generation of Your sons. And I thought how to understand this, but it was difficult in my eyes, until I entered into the sanctuary of God and understood their end…” (vv. 15-22). Asaph realized that before this prayer, he reasoned as an unbeliever, but when he looked at everything through the eyes of God, he saw, as they say, beyond the horizon. And you can only look like this if you have faith. God resolved Asaph’s contradiction.
What conclusion did the Lord lead Asaph to? It turns out that wicked people are unhappy because they will perish. The psalmist compares their life to a wonderful dream that will sooner or later end and there will be a terrible awakening. Imagine that you were given the opportunity to choose between a wonderful dream with a sad awakening and a nightmare dream with a joyful and happy awakening. What choice would you make? Asaph says that the disbelievers choose the former. They prefer a good sweet dream because they do not believe that there is a God, hell and heaven, judgment, punishment and reward. Asaph looked at his problem from the perspective of eternity. He realized that it is better not to envy the wicked. They have no future.
God gives Asaph the answer to what the true blessings are for believers. “But I am always with You: You hold me by the right hand; You guide me with Your counsel, and then You will receive me into glory” (vv. 23-24). In these verses we find four benefits. First, God promises that He will always be there. Secondly, God will not only be there, He will hold us tightly and never leave us. Thirdly, the Lord guides us in this life and knows which path to lead every believer. Fourthly, God will be with us not only on earth, but also in eternity. These are the true benefits for believers that Asaph had to sing about.

The article uses a fragment of the sermon “The Paradox of Faith” by Igor Prokopov