My Portion Forever (Psalm 73)

Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. (verse 1)

Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (verses 25-26)

But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works. (verse 28)

I would encourage you to read the whole Psalm and, as we did with Psalm 23, write down the characteristics of God that you see. Asaph, the writer of this Psalm, begins with one characteristic of God which anchors the rest of the Psalm: “Truly God is good…” We know this is true. We even respond to “God is good” with “all the time” or “All the time God is good.” But like we will see with Asaph, sometimes we don’t live as if this is true.

Asaph looked at those around and saw the wicked doing well. They were prospering. It seemed they were getting away with their sin. In contrast, those who tried to live in obedience to God didn’t have the earthly prosperity of the ungodly (vs 13). Asaph saw the righteous experiencing trouble and being stricken (vs 4-5). Asaph’s jealousy of the wicked almost caused him to stumble in his faith (vs 2-3).

We do not have to look far to see what Asaph saw. When we view circumstances and people strictly from an earthly perspective, we see the wicked thriving. In the past month alone, we’ve seen pro-abortionists gain tremendous ground. God is being removed from more and more places. With Asaph, we can say, “They set their mouths against the heavens” (vs 9). I’m sure you can add much more to the list of the ungodly seemingly getting away with sin and even prospering.

What is your response when you see the wicked thriving? Asaph was tempted to despair. He was tempted to doubt God’s goodness. Verse 16 says that he even grew weary trying to understand the contrast between the wicked and the righteous. He was worried about his testimony to others due to his own despair. We are like Asaph. We think, act and speak according to what is seen not according to the truth of the unseen – God who is sovereign, good, just, wise, omnipotent, faithful and still at work (all found in this Psalm).

What do we do? Asaph went to the sanctuary of the Lord. He sought God, and Asaph’s earthly perspective was traded for an eternal perspective. He was able to perceive God, others and himself according to truth. God is just. The wicked will not get away with their sin forever. If unrepentant, then they will receive eternal death.

Asaph began to recall God’s goodness that was there all along. Asaph was with God continually. God held his right hand (vs 23). God guided him with counsel and would receive him in glory (vs 24). God may not rectify our circumstances in the way we think or even here on earth, but ultimately our end is good – eternal life with God.

As Asaph focuses on his hope in God and His goodness, he says, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth I desire besides You” (vs 25). Before Asaph was fixated on the wicked. Now his gaze and his hope are set on God both eternally (in heaven) and right here, right now (nothing on earth). God is holy. There is none beside Him. Asaph is putting all earthly and heart idols away.

He goes on to say, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” God is our portion forever. He is all that Asaph or we will ever need. Our bodies may fail. Our heart may fail, but God will never fail. As I think of God being the strength of my heart, I think of the Holy Spirit. It is the same Spirit, the same power that raised Jesus from the grave that indwells us and gives us the strength we need.

Asaph concludes that it is good to be near God (vs 28). God is our refuge. We can run to Him and rest in His goodness when the world around us seems out of control and evil is thriving. Why? Asaph’s answer, “that I may tell of Your works.” In verse 15 he was worried about betraying God’s goodness to others. Now, instead, he can share God’s good work with others.

Reflection:

1. Are you discouraged by your surrounding circumstances? Are you discouraged or jealous of others who seem to be in a better place than you? What is the specific situation causing you to despair?

2. How have you responded to the above situation? How have you doubted God’s goodness in the above? Are you defining His goodness by your own terms and wants or by God’s character and Biblical truth?

3. List ways God’s goodness is evident.

4. What steps can you take to exchange an earthly perspective for one that knows that God alone is your strength and portion?

5. Who can you share God’s goodness with today?