Stumbling

The Psalms often give us a deeply personal look at someone's faith journey, and that can be immensely helpful to us as the Psalmists aren't holding back from the hard things and the struggles, which we see in Psalm 73.

Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.

2 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. (Psalm 73:1-3 NIV)
The Psalmist had almost thrown his faith away when he saw the arrogant and the wicked and how well things seemed to go for them. How often is this a struggle for us, we see people succeeding in life by doing wicked things, and we wonder if Christianity is worth it, this is not a new struggle, it has been happening for thousands of years.

This is how the Psalmist sees the wicked:
They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.
5 They are free from common human burdens;
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;
their evil imaginations have no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
with 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 would God know?
Does the Most High know anything?”

12 This is what the wicked are like—
always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. (Psalm 73:4-12 NIV)
It's a pretty long list, and notice that not all of the characteristics are ones that are desirable (v. 6 for example) yet they are ones that cause the Psalmist to wonder what it would be like if he just followed them and became like them, life would seem better. This is no doubt how we often see people who don't live according to Christ's will, even if that's not entirely true that's the perception that we often have. The key verse is verse 11, they essentially mock God, they say that he doesn't know, they don't just not obey God they openly defy him.

And so the Psalmist wonders:
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments. (Psalm 73:13-14 NIV)
No doubt this is something we have all wondered, why have we followed when we see all the good that comes to those who are opposed to God.

The Psalmist finds an answer:
If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
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 They are like a dream when one awakes;
when you arise, Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies. (Psalm 73:15-20 NIV)
The Psalmist finds the answer in God's Sanctuary, he goes to the Temple and it is there that he learns the answer. The Psalmist heads to church and as he looks at God's word he discovers the final destiny of those that oppose God, it will not be good for them any more.

The Bible teaches us that we will win the war, sometimes it's hard to see as we look at the world but as we look more at God's world we know that we will be victorious and our final destination will be better than that of those who don't trust in him.