psalm 73

(My apologies for the weird format, I cannot get it set right. Chrystal is not a weird formater. brian mcdaniel)

“Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside.
I was so foolish and ignorant – I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
Yet still I belong to you; you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.
Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.
My health ma fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.
Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you.
But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.”
Psalm 73: 21-28 (NLT)

The temptation is not to trust.
        A simple temptation.
        Dissatisfaction, "is it for nothing, I am keeping my heart pure?" (v. 13)
Not the prosperity of the wicked as the psalm says, but the lack of my own satisfaction, this is bitterness, this in an impure heart; the temptation not to trust, to imagine that providence and sovereignty are others gain and not wait on the Lord, or to wait with bitterness.
        I recluse to my own sanctuary where I am right and righteous judge of my circumstances.
        My mind works its deceptions, imaginations, and devious musings. It is not the right place to go.
                 I must go to the Lord's sanctuary (v. 17). It is where He reveals destiny; the destiny of the
                 wicked and of the righteous.

Quickly, I realize:
I am bitter, I am the fool, I am the ignorant one.
          I am torn up inside, I deceived myself, I trusted in myself; I do not wait on the counsel of the Lord,
          I rush.
          BUT!
          I still belong to the Lord, even unto my animal instincts - to fight, to flee, to survive.
                   What must survive? What am I surviving?
                            My flesh will certainly fail.
                            My spirit will certainly grow weak.
                            Do I flee or fight only to abandon and perish?
                   Let my heart not fail! Let God be the strength of my heart - Lord lead me to a glorious
                   destiny! Let my heart be pure that I may see you.

Dissatisfaction and bitterness are easy temptations. I may be quite laid back, seemingly content in most life situations, appearing to be calm in turbulence, yet do I really have contentment and calm, am I really satisfied and free of bitterness? If you believe I am content, that I am always calm, you don't know me very well. I wouldn’t say I'm the type to burst or blow up...I mull things over, and over, and over...you get the point. As I mull over my life, I do ask "is it for nothing?" I also ask, "is it for everything?" Between the two questions, I find the answer. It is not for nothing, but I alone cannot attain to everything. IF it is for nothing, I perish deserving of the full wrath of God for abandon. IF it is for everything, I perish deserving the full wrath of God for not attaining. IF it is for Christ, I live. So I must trust. I am satisfied in Christ's satisfaction and in that satisfaction there can be no bitterness.

I must go to the Lord's sanctuary to meditate on his sovereignty and be reminded that He judges the secrets of man by Christ.

(post by Chrystal Bate)