In the movie Signs Mel Gibson plays the role of a Christian minister who has lost his ability to keep trusting in the goodness of God. Indeed, it appears that this particular character has come to doubt the very existence of God!
What we are talking about here is the phenomenon known as the “crisis of faith.”
Have you ever experienced a crisis of faith? Have you ever passed through a place in your spiritual journey where the circumstances you were experiencing at the time made it very difficult for you to keep believing that God was there and that He cared?
In Psalm 73 a fellow named Asaph opens up his soul and relates to us the details of the crisis of faith he once experienced. Evidently, both the psalmist and the Holy Spirit who inspired him to write believed that our reading this saga could help us in our own walk with God.
Asaph begins his saga with a preliminary statement of faith.
Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. (Psalms 73:1)
Now, we might not realize it at first, but in this brief sentence, Asaph is affirming his belief in three important theological propositions:
- First, God is there.
- Second, the God who is there is a good God.
- Third, the God who is there can be counted on to be good to the people who belong to Him, to the people who do their best to maintain a pure heart and to live their lives the way He commands.
However …
Asaph goes on to confess that once upon a time he experienced a rather serious problem in his walk with God.
But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. (Psalms 73:2)
According to this verse, Asaph hit a major bump in the road that was his spiritual journey. Even though Asaph was evidently a high-ranking Levite whose job was to help the people of Israel worship God, he almost lost his confidence in the goodness, bigness and dependability of God.
This prompts us to ask the crucial question: What was it that almost caused Asaph to almost lose his foothold in the faith?
Asaph quickly presses on to indicate what it was that caused his problem.
But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. {3} For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. (Psalms 73:2-3)
At the risk of putting words in Asaph’s mouth, I hear him saying something like this:
My confidence in the goodness, bigness and dependability of God was severely shaken when I began to recognize how unfair life is. If God is there and is especially good to those who do their best to maintain pure hearts and lives before Him, then why are the most prosperous people often those who are arrogant and wicked? My spiritual confusion became so intense that, for a while, I actually began to envy the lifestyles of the rich and famous, many of whom couldn’t care less about serving God!
Can you relate at all to Asaph’s concern? Have we never had similar questions, and experienced a similar temptation?
This can be a very serious trial to a person’s spiritual walk, as evidenced by the fact that . . .
In the next few verses of his psalm, Asaph goes to some lengths to describe the lifestyle of the people he found himself envying.
They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. {5} They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. {6} Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. {7} From their callous hearts comes iniquity ; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. {8} They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. {9} Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. {10} Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. {11} They say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?” {12} This is what the wicked are like — always carefree, they increase in wealth. (Psalms 73:4-12)
For what it’s worth, it’s my sense that Asaph had a hard time understanding why…
- The wicked don’t seem to have struggles.
- They appear to be healthy and strong even though they are filled with pride and are given to violence.
- The wicked possess hearts that are so calloused toward God and others their lives are filled with iniquity and their language is filled with arrogant scoffing and threats of oppression.
- The wicked are constantly making boastful claims for themselves, and they expect everyone else to serve them.
- The wicked possess no humility whatsoever, and yet, ironically, they are surrounded by people who hang on to their every word and want to imitate their every action.
- The wicked do not have the slightest idea of what it means to fear God (i.e., they don’t believe that God can see what they are doing or will judge them for the way they live their lives).
- In summary, it seems that, despite their arrogance toward God and mistreatment of others, the wicked are always carefree and keep increasing in wealth!
So, it appears that Asaph is saying to himself something like: “What in the heck is up with that?”
In the next section of his saga, Asaph honestly expresses his great sense of frustration over how unfair all this seems to be.
Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. {14} All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. {15} If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed your children. {16} When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me… (Psalms 73:13-16)
Now, this kind of existential frustration is not something we feel free to talk about in church, but it does sometimes occur. Am I right?
The brutal truth is that the evil can be quite adept at causing us to doubt whether all our attempts to maintain pure hearts and lives before God are really worth it. We can begin to wonder, in the dark corners of our hearts and minds, if maybe we are not being naïve, foolish even, in our continued striving to live as fully devoted followers of Christ. Could it be that we are missing out on the best that this life has to offer while we foolishly strive to maintain purity before an invisible God?
Asaph tells us that he once passed through a period of time in his life when these kinds of questions so haunted his walk with God that he nearly gave up his faith.
But then, in verses 16 through 20 of Psalm 73, Asaph reveals the insight that finally brought peace to his tormented soul.
When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me {17} till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. {18} Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. {19} How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! {20} As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies. (Psalms 73:16-20)
What do you hear Asaph saying here? I hear him saying something like this:
All this was oppressive to me until one day, while sitting in a worship service, I refocused my attention off of this life and onto the one to come. Then I realized that any blessings the wicked enjoy are merely temporary. Someday, perhaps sooner rather than later given their self-destructive behaviors, they are going to die and experience God’s righteous judgment. God doesn’t pay at the end of every day, but in the end . . . He pays. It was then that I realized that for all their present prosperity, I wouldn’t want to be one of the wicked rich when they stand before God after this life is over!
It’s at this point that Asaph takes the first step toward his spiritual recovery: he confesses to God the effect this season of doubt had been having upon his life.
When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, {22} I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. (Psalms 73:21-22)
Now whenever the Bible speaks of men and women living as brute beasts, it’s not a good thing. We human beings, unlike all other creatures of the earth, are created in the image of God. What this means is that, unlike all other creatures, we can have a personal, intimate, interactive relationship with the Creator of the universe.
But we don’t always walk worthy of this high calling, do we? Sometimes, we can allow ourselves to live beneath our privileges. Sometimes, we can, like Asaph, become spiritually dull and insensitive before God and live our lives merely by animal instinct, like brute beasts instead of God’s children.
The big problem with this is that brute beasts don’t care about living lives of purity before God. Even more importantly, brute beasts (except for dogs) don’t go to heaven after this life is over.
I’m not sure if Asaph wrote Psalm 49 (it is possible), but notice how these few verses parallel what we are reading in Psalm 73:
But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish. {13} This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. Selah {14} Like sheep they are destined for the grave, and death will feed on them. The upright will rule over them in the morning; their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. {15} But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself. Selah {16} Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; {17} for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him. {18} Though while he lived he counted himself blessed– and men praise you when you prosper– {19} he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of life. {20} A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish. (Psalms 49:12-20)
The point is that we don’t want to live our lives like brute beasts, driven entirely by our animal instincts rather than our unique knowledge of God. This is precisely what the wicked but rich are doing, and why they will suffer so after this life is over and they are forced to give a reckoning of their lives to God.
What Asaph acknowledges in verses 21 and 22 of his saga is that to the degree he allowed himself to become envious of the wicked but rich, he too began to lose his spiritual sensitivity and to live as a brute beast before his Creator.
Since Asaph’s vocation called for him to lead people in worship, this would have been no little problem!
But, the good news is that in the next two verses of Psalm 73, Asaph proceeds to speak of the special, personal consolation he eventually began to experience.
Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. {24} You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. (Psalms 73:23-24)
Isn’t this good stuff? On the one hand, you have the wicked but rich who tend to die young and then will face fearsome judgment and eternal death. On the other hand, you have folks like Asaph (and you and me), who may never be materially wealthy in this life but are blessed beyond measure!
What are the blessings of those who maintain heart purity before God? According to Asaph:
- First, we get to experience the peace, joy and sense of purpose that come from holding God’s hand as we walk through life.
- Second, we get to experience God’s gracious guidance and provision in the here and now.
- Third, when this life is over, we get to experience a glorious, abundant life that will last forever!
This is good stuff, isn’t it?
This explains why . . .
Near the end of his psalm, Asaph offers us a fresh expression of his renewed faith and trust in God.
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. {26} My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalms 73:25-26)
Ultimately, Asaph concludes his saga with a final declaration of his radical commitment to keep serving God no matter what and to encourage others to do the same.
Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. {28} 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. (Psalms 73:27-28)
I hope this little peek into Asaph’s crisis of faith has been as helpful to you in your own walk with God.
Here are a few lessons that linger for me:
First, we shouldn’t be all that surprised when we experience a crisis of faith—it happens even to really spiritual people.
Second, at the same time, we must recognize how serious such a crisis can be: the spiritually desensitizing effect this experience has on us can make us especially vulnerable to the temptation to sin and, perhaps even, to defect from the faith.
Third, the key to overcoming any crisis of faith is simply to regain the proper perspective, the big picture of what God is really doing in the world.
Fourth, usually, this much needed paradigm shift occurs in the “sanctuary,” i.e., when we, by raw faith, continue to stay engaged in prayer and worship.
Finally, there is a reason why God allows us to experience an occasional crisis of faith: the end result of such a crisis is an even stronger faith in God, and an even greater commitment to encourage others to stay close to Him.
You’ve probably heard by now that in the Chinese language the word for crisis is made up of two characters: way gee. Each of these is half a word, the first being “danger” and the second “opportunity.” Therefore, the word Chinese word for “crisis” literally means “dangerous opportunity.”
That’s a pretty good way of looking at what we are calling the “crisis of faith.” Each crisis of faith we move through in our spiritual journey is a “dangerous opportunity.”
Are you passing through a crisis of faith right now? How will you handle your dangerous opportunity?
Something to think about.
