Psalm 73:25, 26 - God Is Our All in All.
Psalm 73:25, 26 - God Is Our All in All.
Psalm 73:25-26 (KJV) Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there
is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. 26 My flesh and my
heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for
ever.
Psalm 73:25-26 (NLT) Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you
more than anything on earth. 26 My health may fail, and my spirit may
grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine
forever.
INTRODUCTION
There is no one in heaven who can be compared with God. No one
"can be to me what God is" (Barnes)... God is all-sufficient. All my
happiness centers in Him. This intimacy of devotion is one of the cardinal
teachings of the book of Psalms (see Ps. 42:1, 2; 63:1)... God was the
source of the psalmist's happiness. God was his all in all. Prompted by
this verse, Charles Wesley (1707-88), on his deathbed, dictated to
his wife one of his 6,500 hymns, in which appear the words: "Jesus,
... strength of my failing flesh and heart." [SDA Bible Commentary]
OVERVIEW
The psalm begins with "God is good" and ends with "It is good"
(v. 28), but between those statements, things are not so good!
The philosopher. Asaph's basic premise was correct: God is
good. But when he pondered the success of the wicked and the sorrows
of the righteous, he began to falter in his faith. It seemed that
he was wasting his time and energy being faithful to God because
the unfaithful received all the blessings. He did not realize that
what he called "good" was not what God would call "good." He was
walking by sight and not by faith.
The worshiper. The turning point came when he went into the
sanctuary and started looking at things from God's viewpoint The important
thing is not so much what you own or enjoy but where you are going.
What good is an easy death (v. 4) if it ushers you into pain? When
life seems unfair, take time to worship and get your spiritual vision
properly focused.
The friend. Asaph realized that because he had God as his
Friend, he needed nothing else. He had more than the wicked, and what he
had would last forever. God would hold him, guide him, strengthen
him, satisfy his spiritual desires--and one day, take him to heaven!
We are not philosophers, living on man's explanations. We are
pilgrims, living on God's promises, and His promises never fail. [Chapter
by Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren Wiersbe]
Probably you can understand Asaph's feelings. He'd tried all his
life to be a good person. He'd tried to serve God. But all he'd
gotten in return was sickness, hardships, and more troubles than he
cared to name. Of course, what really bothered Asaph was that he knew
people with no faith at all who were healthy and strong, rich and
carefree! No wonder Asaph was discouraged, and had begun to feel that "in
vain have I kept my heart pure." What good is a faith that doesn't
work in this world? What good is a faith that seems to bring more
plagues and punishments on the believer than the world's wicked have to
endure? The psalm tells us that Asaph struggled with these thoughts in
silence. And then, suddenly, one day in God's sanctuary, Asaph found his
answer! Asaph realized that the troubles he experienced were gifts from
God, and that the easy life granted the wicked was actually "slippery
ground"! What Asaph gained was a perspective that you and I need to keep
constantly in mind. The easy life of the wicked is no reward, for it leads
them away from any dependence on God! Why turn their thoughts to the
Lord when they feel no need of His help? Yet, one day soon, they will
be "swept away by terrors," for they will awaken to realize that
this world is the dream, and eternity the reality. And Asaph? Asaph,
now ashamed of his earlier jealousy of the wicked, realized that the
very trials he had hated had led him again and again to God in
prayer. Only through his troubles had Asaph discovered God as "the
strength of my heart and my portion forever." [The 365-Day Devotional
Commentary re Psalm 73]
COMMENTARY APPLICATIONS
I never thought I had many idols in my life until I got
married. Isn't it funny how marriage reveals all those sins we thought we
had hidden? All the selfishness seems to come out, and we find out
how sinful we really are!
After we had been married for about ten years, my husband
decided to leave a lucrative sales job and open a restaurant. The next
three years were extraordinarily difficult. It was during this time
that God revealed some of the idols I had been worshiping
unknowingly. One of those idols was my husband himself. When we had
difficulties with finances, or really anything else, he had always figured
something out and made it work. Now, our business was failing, so I
expected him to solve the problem. But this time he had no answers, and
when he began to struggle, I fell apart. That's when God showed me
that I was looking to my husband when I should have been looking to
God. He showed me that I can't expect my husband to be perfect or to
have all the answers. I had to trust God to work in his life and in
mine as well.
God allowed me to be completely broken so I could realize that
he--not my husband--would forever be "the strength of my heart." The
business failed, but God's purposes did not. He used that difficult time
to reveal himself to us and to strengthen our marriage and our
faith.
Debbie Graves, a freelance writer, part-time college English
instructor, Sunday school teacher, and small-group leader, lives in
Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband and three children. [The One Year
Bible Live Verse Devotional]
In 1977 we packed up our four children and various animals to
move from our home state of Texas to the Arizona desert, where we
would be ministering with The Navigators, a lay Christian
organization. This was an enormous upheaval for us all; we were leaving a
successful veterinary practice, family, friends--and Texas chili.
I was concerned about good friends and schools for our
children and apprehensive about what the future held for my husband and
me. We had prayed diligently about this move, and I knew God was
going before us, but it wasn't until I read Psalm 73:25-26 that my
heart was comforted and strengthened.
God's Word reminded me to keep my focus on him and not on my
circumstances, to trust him with all my heart, and to know that he would always
be with me. These precious words from God proved true not only for
that transition in my life, but also for all the other changes I have
encountered over the years.
Cynthia Heald, a speaker on staff with The Navigators and a
founder of the Women of Faith movement, is the author of several books,
including the best seller Becoming a Woman of Excellence and Maybe God Is
Right After All. [The One Year Bible Live Verse Devotional]
The psalmist had tested and experienced the beauty, glory, and
excellency of the Lord; that is why he could proclaim that there was
nothing or no one in all the earth that he wanted or treasured more than
God. He had seen God as he truly was-- as his shepherd, his counselor,
his victory, his refuge, and his sustainer. Therefore, he knew that
all his needs and desires were fulfilled in God and that he would
always be the strength of his heart and life, even when his health
failed or the aging process brought weakness.
If we see and experience Jesus as he is, we, too, will value
him above every earthly pleasure, possession, or relationship.
Though our vision of God is often dim and "we see things imperfectly as
in a poor mirror" (1 Corinthians 13:12), we can ask for the
spiritual eyes to see the Lord and for our hearts to so experience his
presence that we will treasure him and be more thrilled by him than by
anything on earth, Dedicate some time today for praising and thanking God
that he is and always will be the strength of your heart and yours
forever.
LORD, I want to know, see, and experience you in fresh ways so
I can truly say that I desire you more than anything on earth! You
and you alone are the strength of my heart. You are all that I need,
and I am so thankful that you are mine forever. Nothing can separate
me from your love. Open my eyes, and grant me fresh vision to
constantly see your beauty and your love for me. [Praying Through The Bible
By Fuller re Psa. 73:25, 26]
Yesterday we looked at the words: "Whom have I in heaven but
you?" Now we examine the second part of that text: "And earth has
nothing I desire besides you" (Psa. 73:25b). Personally, I find these
some of the most enchanting words in the whole of the Old Testament.
The first part of the verse is put in a negative, and the second in
a positive form. Having looked around and seen that there is no
satisfying substitute for the Almighty, the psalmist goes on to make the
positive assertion that from the bottom of his heart he desires to know
God. He has come to see (so I believe) that it is more important to
desire God for who He is than for what He does or what He gives. In a
sense, the psalmist's entire problem arose out of the fact that he had
put what God gives in the place of God Himself. The ungodly were
having a good time while he was having a bad time. Why was he having to
suffer like this? His trouble was that he had become more interested in
the things God gives than in God Himself, and when he didn't have
the things he wanted, he began to doubt God's love. Now, however, he
has come to the place where he desires God for Himself. The ultimate
test of the Christian life is whether we desire God for Himself or
for what He gives. Each one of us must ask ourselves: "Do I desire
God more than forgiveness? More than release from my problems? More
than healing of my condition? More than gifts and abilities?" How
tragic that our prayers can be full of pleadings that show, when they
are examined, that we are more interested in enjoying God's
blessings than we are in enjoying God.
O Father, forgive me that so often I am concerned more with
Your gifts than I am with You - the Giver. Help me to long after You,
not because of what You give me, but because of who You are. In
Jesus' Name I ask it Amen. by Selwyn Hughes in Everyday Light
COMMENTARY APPLICATION SPECIFIC TO BURNOUT
How Do I Deal With Burnout?
Burnout. The very expression seems to make us sigh, doesn't
it? In this fast-paced, overworked world, most of us have felt the
tiring numbness of burnout. How should a believer in Christ respond to
these feelings?
1. Surrender. You may think this means to throw up your hands
and cry, "I give up!" but that is not what we must do. Rather, we
should surrender everything we have to the Lord. His hands are large
enough to hold anything we need Him to handle. Remember what God says:
"I have made the earth, and created man on it. I--My hands--stretched
out the heavens, and all their host I have commanded" (Is. 45:12).
When we try to keep everything in our puny hands, we will eventually
start dropping it all.
2. Depend on Him. Have you ever relinquished a concern to the
Lord, only to find yourself trying to pull it back out of His hand? We
tend to want to fix things ourselves. The truth is, however, that
only God has both the power and perspective to bring all matters to
their proper conclusion (see Rom. 11:33-36). When we try to take
things back from Him, we only interfere with the solution He wants to
bring about.
3. Trust Him. Do not overlook this vital point: God loves you!
Because of His great love, God wants to take care of you--and that means
He wants to handle all of your worries (see Matt: 6:25-34).
God doesn't want you to run yourself into exhaustion, even by
doing good deeds or church work. Instead, He desires that you rejoice
in His rest (see Matt. 11:29, 30). You may have reached the end of
your rope, but God never will. That's why you must learn to say as
Asaph did, "My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my
heart and my portion forever."
Are you burning out? If so, return to God and be rekindled
today. [Life Principles SB By Charles Stanley re Psa. 73:26]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Some people think that only the weak need God, but the fact is
that all of us are weak. Our flesh fails; our heart fails. But when
we find our strength in God, our weakness turns to strength (2 Cor.
12:10). [Life Principles SB By Charles Stanley]
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
Grace Notes:
http://www.e-gracenotes.org/index.php
A Better Way to Live:
http://www.itiswritten.com/betterway/
Excellent Spiritual Resource Site:
http://www.christianlifemediacenter.com/
More Spiritual Resources:
http://www.aBible.com
