Through Doubt to Deeper Faith - The Book of Psalms
Main Idea:
Asaph gives us an honest recollection of his journey through doubt as he sees the continual prosperity of the wicked and questions God's justice. As he comes to the edge of loosing his faith his perspective is restored as he comes into the presence of God, and gains a fresh understanding of the fragility of the sinner's success as well as the enteral and enduring faithfulness of God. Asaph is honest about the complexity of true faith and shows us that battling with doubt is not always an enemy of faith, but actually part of the healthy journey of a growing faith.
Outline:
1. The confession
2. The disturbing question
3. The breakthrough
4. The new perspective
5. The deeper desire and the deeper peace
Scripture References:
- Psalm 73
- Isaiah 40:6-8
- John 6:27
- Titus 3:4-6
Application Questions:
- What kind of faith drives you today? Is it a faith of mere practices, traditions, culture or logical answers?
- Have you ever been captivated by the ever-present love of God?
- What is your response to the success and confidence of the world around you?
- Are you honest and open about the questions that linger in your heart? Where do you go to get perspective?
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One of the unique things about living in our modern secular world is that we live in a world where everyone's beliefs are under pressure from the different beliefs of the people around them.
In previous ages it was not always so.
The last 1500 years in the West, we have seen a more or less same worldview. God, morality, truth - were shared, though of course to differing levels. Today, we have a buffet of ideas and perspectives that surround us and it does not matter WHAT you believe, you are always under the nagging question - why this and not that?
This is important to note since so often in the church complex questions are shooed aside and people who struggle with doubt and questions are shamed and made to feel weak.
Part of the reason for that is because our tendency is to get very defensive toward someone who is asking complicated questions - we are afraid that it will challenge OUR faith and so we want move away from that as quickly as possible.
The reality is however, truth is never afraid of questions. The God of Scripture is the God who is always inviting questions, who is calling all who doubt to come and present their struggles before him.
We have God's famous invitation in Isaiah 1:18 - "Come let us reason together". We have constant challenges that God in the OT presents to the false prophets of other religions, saying, "Come and present your case, lets hear your arguments for why you believe in these false gods!"
Jesus asks them if they want to leave him too, he challenges his followers to truly count the cost of following him.
Paul challenges his readers to examine themselves, to see if they are actually in the faith!
All over Scripture, there is an invitation to consider the evidence, to ask hard questions, to confront and share our doubts before God and his Word.
This is a very honest Psalm, encouragingly so, strikingly so. It exposes the deep battles that rage within the faithful follower of Christ throughout the ages. It pulls back the curtain and destroys the notion that even spiritual leaders are bulletproof in their faith.
It is honest about the complexity of true faith and it shows that battling with doubt is not always an enemy of faith, but actually part of the healthy journey of a growing faith.
1. The confession
Asaph was one of the men in the temple ministry during the reign of king David. He was one of the people responsible for leading God's people in ministry. No doubt this is a position where his faith is an example to others and it comes with a lot of pressure to be "strong in the faith".
He shares with us his spiritual journey, he opens his heart and his struggles.
And again remember that as it is the words and feelings of this specific man, its also part of Scripture, it is the words that God himself gives to us as from himself.
He starts out with a confession of faith - a statement of his deepest conviction, which sets out from the start what he truly believes NOW to be true. As he shares with you his journey of doubt and faith, he does not want you to have any doubt as to where he is at NOW.
"Truly, God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart..."
This is a statement that affirms God's faithfulness to his people. Again, as NT readers reading this we need to see here not just speaking of Israel, but to those who are called the people of God, to those who follow him from the heart.
"Truly God is good..."
Indeed, surely, for sure, UNDOUBTEDLY - God is indeed good.
"As for me, my feet almost slipped, my nearly went astray"
Or as another translation puts it:
"I had almost stopped believing; I had almost lost my faith" (NCV)
In contrast to his first affirmation - of the unquestionable goodness of God - he gives us a confession of a struggle that he himself experienced in his relationship to this wonderful God.
"I had almost stopped believing; I had almost lost my faith" (NCV)
Its important not to brush over this too quickly and miss the strength of these words! He isn't just talking about a LITTLE struggle! He is speaking of a point of his life that was desperately dark and difficult!
One of the chief worship leaders serving under King David confesses that he had a period in his spiritual life that was so difficult that he fells like he almost abandoned his faith, and yet here he is, leading worship and boldly tell all to hear, sharing the journey so that this can serve both to glorify God and build up the people of God.
2. The disturbing question
Doubt often grows through a disturbing question that lingers in the back of our mind, that threatens to disrupt everything we believe and know. A question that makes us uncomfortable. A question that we may not want to face head on because we think we don't have an answer for it.
Our common response to such things is to try to shake them off and go about our life, but as it lingers in the shadows the doubt grows and challenges our beliefs more and more.
Asaph's struggle was a true and challenging one. Essentially it boils down to the question of God's justice - why do the wicked people prosper and seem to experience so much success while I am living a life of continual battle and struggle as I seek to walk faithfully to God and his word?
As he watches the life of the wicked people, his heart grows bitter and even envious of them.
Look at them! They hate God! They mock God! They do whatever they want! They party, they enjoy all manner of pleasure! They are so confident! And yet their businesses are so successful! They grow in riches more and more!
Notice that theres two main characteristics that he is highlight about the wicked: prosperity and pride.
They have an easy time until they die,
and their bodies are well fed.
5 They are not in trouble like others;
they are not afflicted like most people.
6 Therefore, pride is their necklace,
and violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes bulge out from fatness;
the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
8 They mock, and they speak maliciously;
they arrogantly threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues strut across the earth.
When I look at the wicked people of the world, why does it seem like very often, they are experiencing the TOTAL OPPOSITE of what God SAYS will happen to them??
Am i just caught here in some sort of sick game? Here I am seeking to follow the ways of God and it is hard! Isn't it supposed to be blessing and joy to walk with God? Isn't sin supposed to ruin lives and lead to destruction?
"For I envied the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked."
It's crazy because when I consider this question it's almost like Asaph wrote this story exactly for our social media driven age.
The digital revolution has given us eyes to see into the lives of everyone else, and most of those are people who deny God. The greatest icons of our age, the pop stars, the CEO's, the billionaires, the geniuses - youtube, tik tok, snapchat and instagram gives us a very PERSONAL lens into their homes and their pleasures.
We see 25 year old millionaires walking around their mansions in a silk robe, surrounded by women and cash and lamborginis. And they are telling you how just two years ago they were living in their mom's basement.
We see Joe Rogan and other famous voices, bringing on all the smartest people in the world on his podcast and talking about the power of psychedelic drugs and how much better he feels and how REAL the changes are in his life.
And they preach to us a message that says, "HEY look, I am REALLY happy and my life is REALLY good and you can have this too!"
And you look back at your ordinary life and your struggles and your work at trying to read the Bible and pray and seek growth and how challenging and dry it can feel sometimes and you begin to wonder.
"Am I the one who has it backwards???"
Asaph is not just dealing with some shallow, petty jealousy. He's asking a real and challenging question.
If we are not ever tempted by the prosperity of the wicked people around us, if we never wonder about the justice of God and of how upside down our christian value system often feels - we are either being naive or we are just ignoring this deep and lingering question in our hearts.
3. The breakthrough
Asaph struggles with this for a while.
Did I purify my heart
and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?
14 For I am afflicted all day long
and punished every morning.
15 If I had decided to say these things aloud,
I would have betrayed your people.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it seemed hopeless
The process of dealing with seasons of doubt and difficult questions that wont go away is NOT, as is commonly done in the church - to treat them with simplicity and say something like: "Just believe!" "Trust what the Bible says!".
We don't want to downplay the seriousness of these questions - rather what we want to do is to increase our view of the power of the answers that Scripture holds!
Often times we think we know what the Bible says but because we never really allow ourselves to be truly challenged, we never really discover that power of the answers that we hold in front of us!
Asaph, the godly and wise man of God, who is tasked with leading worship for the people of Israel - when he seeks to understand this thing all on his own, when he tries to wrap his mind around this problem - he comes to a complete dead end.
This is the lowest place he has ever been. This is where he feels like he is loosing his faith.
Here is where his journey of doubt and faith hinges, where it turns.
And that turn comes through a very unexpected way:
"When I tried to understand all this,
it seemed hopeless
17 until I entered God’s sanctuary.
Then I understood their destiny."
The sanctuary of God is the place of worship, the inner place of the temple. It is the place where God dwells.
At first glance this may seem like a strange way to break out of your spiritual depression: go to church and everything gets better. And obviously that is not how it works for most people.
And i really don't think he is being that simplistic here. He's not saying, i just went to church and everything got better.
What is interesting about the old testament inner sanctuary of the temple was that it was designed as a mini cosmos.
When you would enter the worship space that God had designed for the people of Israel, it was meant to remind you that you are entering the presence of the God who reigns over all things, and through him, you see the who world a certain way.
when Asaph says, "I entered God's sanctuary and then i understood their end.." he isn't just speaking of going to a physical space that had some magical effect on him. he is saying that he entered into a different perspective. He came into the presence of God and in that space, he also entered into place from which he sees all of life from a different angle.
Here is something that we need to understand when it comes to knowing truth: its not just about logic and arguments. Real knowledge comes through a certain posture.
The bible shows us that as limited creatures we do not possess a mind that is able to take in all of reality, to comprehend it, to sift it and to understand it.
We are always depending on someone else's perspective of reality. We are always feeding off of another persons perspective on truth.
And every perspective other than God's perspective is going to give us a view of the world that is skewed or flawed in some way.
Knowledge depends on where you stand. The mind is not only logic. Perspective depends on the posture of the heart. True insight is always born out of the moral stance of humility before the Creator.
This is why the book of Proverbs tells us repeatedly - "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..."
Often times in our doubts, we think we just need answers and information. And yes that is definitely part of the answer. But Asaph shows us here that real light comes when our heart comes into the presence of God, his glory, his wonder, his wisdom and grace - and chooses to see all things from that at the center - not our own desires.
This is why our spiritual routine of worship, Scripture and prayer is so important for all of life - its not just keeping the spiritual part of our life healthy - it is impacting our entire view of life!
4. The new perspective
What is it that Asaph sees?
"Indeed, you put them in slippery places;
you make them fall into ruin.
19 How suddenly they become a desolation!
They come to an end, swept away by terrors.
20 Like one waking from a dream,
Lord, when arising, you will despise their image."
Things are not always as they seem.
In the presence of God and in light of the vastness of eternity - the prosperity of the wicked suddenly comes into a proper light.
You may look from one perspective, and feel like your success, your wealth, your health - its all so solid and so sure.
And yet you look from another angle and you realize - it can all fade away in a moments notice.
One of the repeated ideas of the Bible is that the wicked come to a sudden end. To see through a deeper perspective is to realize that no amount of power, success or wealth can grant to a person true spiritual power to withstand judgement.
Isaiah 40:6-8
“All humanity is grass,
and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flowers fade
when the breath of the Lord blows on them;
indeed, the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flowers fade,
but the word of our God remains forever.”
the success of the world around us is REAL. But it is a certain KIND of real - the kind that quickly fades.
Its more like the reality of a dream - which feels very real, and then all of a sudden its gone.
We are so tempted to be enticed by the shiny things right in front of us rather than seeking that which truly lasts, which gives lasting joy and life.
When we see the prosperity of the world around us we don't need to pretend its not real, or think that they are all just faking it, on the inside they are just suffering. Some of they ARE suffering. But many of them are truly happy.
What we need to learn to do is see their happiness in a proper light - like a flower, that is here today and gone tomorrow.
Unless a human heart is connected to the life giving joy and presence of the Creator, all we are is grass. Taht is a fact. And it ALWAYs comes to a sudden end, in this life or the next.
John 6:27
"Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you..."
5. A deeper desire and a deeper peace
As Asaph has these realizations he begins to reflect on his journey and his own heart a bit more clearly.
When I became embittered
and my innermost being was wounded,
22 I was stupid and didn’t understand;
I was an unthinking animal toward you.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold my right hand.
He's like - man as I look back I realize that was so foolish - like an unthinking animal.
And my stupidity and my pain was directed at YOU God!
And yet here is the crazy thing - in the midst of that you never left. You didn't leave me. you continued to hold my right hand and walk with me?!?
Notice that Asaph is not convicted by God's harshness but by his kindness. He does not say that he went into the sanctuary and he realized that God is a scary judge and that he better repent or he would be crushed by God just like the wicked.
As Asaph comes into the place of worship and as he allows his heart to be captivated by the truth of God's majesty, beauty and power - he is reminded that God's justice on the wicked is unavoidable.
He is reminded that their momentary success is a great tragedy because their success makes them feel invincible against God - which makes them even more blind to their desperate need of God.
But in addition to this, he is reminded of God's amazing goodness and patience. He realizes that even in his deepest, darkest season of doubting, God was working with his heart, he was guiding him, he was taking care of him and he was leading him to a deeper place of faith.
He realizes that God is closer and more present in his life than he ever thought possible. He sees that God's kindness and care and concern for him was SO MUCH GREATER than he ever realized.
This is what transformed Asaph, what truly brought him home from his searching - he came into the presence of the Lord God Almighty - and here he was stopped dead in his tracks by one great truth that all of a sudden matter so little - YOU ARE LOVED.
You are loved by a God who created and crafted the universe, the molecules and the galaxies. You are loved by a God who provides the breath in your lungs every day and heartbeat that keeps you alive. You are loved by a God who loved you even when you were like an unthinking animal towards him. You are loved by a God who is working through the various circumstances in your life, the struggles and the questions - to call you home, to bring you to himself.
"25 Who do I have in heaven but you?
And I desire nothing on earth but you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart,
my portion forever."
The eternal love and grace of our Creator, our heavenly Father is the ONLY thing that fills and captivates our hearts the way that they were meant to. It's the only thing that turns the lights on and puts everything else in perspective.
Asaph says, "You've always been with me, guiding me and loving me...whom who i have in heaven but you??"
My whole life is filled with the guiding and loving presence of God. He leads me. He provides for me, even in the toughest seasons, he is working a purpose which takes me into a deeper and deeper knowledge of his love for me.
What else is there that anyone could ever possibly want?? Even my body will fall apart but Lord - you are my life, my strength - my everyhting.
This is the center of the power of the biblical message - the true and living God is not just a God of answers, or proofs, or real justice - it is his LOVE for sinners.
The true discovery of the truth of God, and the true REdiscovery of God always includes a very PERSONAL discovery - that God in his heart loves and is working through the plan of redemption to communicate that love to our hearts.
He came personally to get us - he lived in our world, he became one of us - he took our human guilt upon himself and he was raised through suffering victorious over the grave - that he might draw us to himself - all this he did for you when you were dead to him.
Titus 3:4-6
4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared,
5 he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
6 He poured out his Spirit on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior
God's eternal love is the only thing that fills and refills our hearts - to bring real peace and freedom.
What kind of faith drives you today? Is it a faith of mere practices, traditions, culture or logical answers?
Where are you at todaY? Have you ever been captivated by the ever present love of God? Have you ever been awakened from the sleep of a sinful human mind that sees nothing but the here and now?
Are you enticed by the world around? Do you see the success of the world around you in an honest light?
What is your response to the deep questions that linger in the heart? What is your response to poeple who ask such questions? Do you see healthy doubt as a pathway to deeper faith?