When Circumstances Seem Unfair

Back in the day before television programming included 300 channels of reruns and 150 channels of shopping there was a program that many people watched on Saturday evenings. The program I have in mind was not dancing to an orchestra with bubbles, it was that other Saturday evening program with musical guests, and humorous skits. One of the recurring skits involved 4 men for whom life seemed unfair. Perhaps you remember this…

Play clip of https://youtu.be/BkzE23pyME4

Before we turn to the Scripture I want you to recall a time when you felt full of gloom because life seemed unfair. Having a particular incident in your mind will help you to identify with the author of today’s psalm.

Perhaps for you it was a time when somebody else got the promotion that you deserved, or was hired for the job that you seemed more qualified. Perhaps it was the time when you miscarried a pregnancy or received that unexpected diagnosis at the doctor’s office. Maybe for you it was a barn fire or a flooded field, or a coyote who got into the henhouse.

News stories seem to proliferate the idea that one person’s life is less privileged than another which becomes an excuse for stealing and destruction.

Innocent people are exposed to a virus that has ended lives that we believe would otherwise still be with us.

All around us are gloom, despair and agony because my life circumstances are not what I imagined they would be. Life doesn’t seem fair!

Transition: In Psalm 73 we peek into the emotions of a man named Asaph who shared many of those feelings.

An Emotional Path Through Suffering (Ps 73)

Asaph introduces his own struggle (vv.1-3)

Psalm 73:1–3 ESV:2016

1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

1. The psalmist starts with a theological statement about what he knows to be truth.

· The pure in heart is not a description of perfection, but of loyalty to God.

2. He then gets brutally honest with how he is overwhelmed by personal anguish, then

3. He describes the circumstances as he sees them.

· Prosperity is actually “shalom” (not riches). They are the ones who seem to experience the peace that should belong to the righteous.

Walter Breuggemann describes Asaph in his book Message of the Psalms as “A tale of a heart seduced and then healed.”

Evil doers seem to have it all (vv.4-12)

Psalm 73:4–12 ESV:2016

4 For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. 5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. 7 Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. 8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. 9 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. 10 Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. 11 And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” 12 Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.

1. They seem carefree. Life is now and now seems to be forever. They enjoy greater freedom of speech and movement. They seem to live above frustrations

2. They do not regard God or His commands.

3. They scoff, boast and threaten others

4. It seems as if God lets the wicked get by with their wickedness.

If we are honest, doesn’t the lack of consequences irritate many of us when we see stories of looting, arson, and destruction of private property and public monuments? It seems like they disregard everything we’ve been told about social distancing and masks, yet we don’t hear of any clusters of the virus spreading through the demonstrations.

Consequences for giving in (vv.13-17)

Psalm 73:13–17 ESV:2016

13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. 14 For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. 15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children. 16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, 17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

1. Asaph questions if living right is worth it. (v.13)

2. His struggle with morality caused personal stress (v.14)

3. He admits that to abandon faith would deny God’s faithfulness to others for generations. (v.15) His current frustration is not consistent with the bigger picture.

4. Personal frustration is no reason to ignore bigger truth (vv.16-17)

The Wicked are doomed (vv.18-20)

Psalm 73:18–20 ESV:2016

18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. 19 How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! 20 Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

1. It may not happen today, tomorrow, next week, or next year, but eventually the wicked will have to give an account of their life before God.

2. Right now they live in a dream world, but when they awaken to reality, the difference from the dream they were enjoying will be stark.

A Re-evaluation of attitudes (vv.21-22)

Psalm 73:21–22 ESV:2016

21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, 22 I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.

1. In light of vv. 18-20 he realizes how foolish it was to envy the wicked.

I learned long ago that if a fool is given enough rope, he eventually will hang himself.

2. Asaph realized his own foolishness, but God had to take him through a process of honesty, searching, and discovery before he truly appreciated what he already had.

Pleasure in Presence (vv.23-26)

Psalm 73:23–26 ESV:2016

23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

1. At the beginning of the Psalm God seems distant. He isn’t bringing blessing to Asaph and He isn’t bringing punishment to evil-doers.

2. When Asaph considers the bigger timeline, he realizes just how close God really is, even if it doesn’t bring the prosperity/easy life that it appears is enjoyed by the wicked.

3. He finds the value in presence rather than presents.

Gospel Song - I’ve got joy, real joy! The world didn’t give it, and the world can’t take it away.

Asaph return to his opening Theology (vv.27-28)

Psalm 73:27–28 ESV:2016

27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. 28 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.

1. Perishing/possession of the wicked—what they truly possess when it is all said and done.

2. The personal anguish of those who follow wickedness

3. The goodness of (hope in) God.

Transition: In addition to Asaph we have some other Biblical Characters whose examples are good models for us.

Perspectives Amidst Uncertainty

Job (Job 29-31)

1. A major lesson I learn from Job is that although he did not understand his suffering, he never allowed his view of God to be turned to disrespect.

2. His own wife suggested that he curse God so that he would be struck dead. But Job never allowed confusion to give way to bitterness.

Peter (Mt 14:30)

Matthew 14:30 (ESV) — But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

1. From Peter’s walking on water account, we learn that keeping our eyes on Jesus brings success. Watching the waves brings despair.

The Lord is near to respond (repeated in Psalms)

Psalm 145:18 (ESV) — The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Psalm 55:16 (ESV) — But I call to God, and the Lord will save me.

Psalm 109:26 (ESV) — Help me, O Lord my God! Save me according to your steadfast love!

Psalm 143:9 (ESV) — Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge.

Transition: If Job and Peter give us perspectives on unfair circumstances. Let me conclude by offering…

4 Prescriptions for Perceived Unfairness

In case your mind has wandered in the last few minutes, reach back to that moment in my introduction when I asked you to think of a specific time you felt the gloom, despair or agony of an unfair situation. Keep that in the front of your mind as I list these four.

Be honest with God

1. Even godly people struggle with doubts and confusion when God’s truth and their experience don’t seem to match. Difficulties don’t automatically mean there’s something wrong with you or that you’re a bad person. They can also mean that life doesn’t always make sense. At times, God’s truth (that God is good and in control of everything) and our experience (life stinks) don’t mesh. That’s what happened to Asaph. It happened to other Bible characters, and my guess is that it has probably happened to you too.

2. What I love about the story of Job is that God never grew angry with Job for honestly expressing his confusion, frustration, and anger. God accepted Job’s hurt, pain, and everything else that overflowed from his suffering heart. Like Job, we too are welcome to tell God how much we doubt, how we sometimes wonder if he even cares. He can handle our fears, our doubts and even our blazing lament when things aren’t right.

Consider your Outcomes Carefully (Choices have consequences)

1. Few things are as difficult to cope with emotionally and spiritually as injustice. It’s at times like this that we are tempted to take matters into our own hands.

2. So if and when you are tempted to walk away from the faith, or respond unrighteously out of anger, I urge you to carefully weigh the impact that such a decision will have on your own life and the lives of others.

Seek a Higher Point of View

1. Entering the sanctuary and viewing life from God’s perspective pivots this whole Psalm.

2. In verse 2 Asaph says, “My feet had almost slipped”—in other words, he was ready to quit. He thought living God’s way was a waste. He was ready to give up on his relationship with God. In verse 13 he thought, “Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure.” But something happened when he entered the sanctuary of God.

3. God will use your raw deal to build your character, to change your life, to give you a testimony, and to fulfill a greater purpose. But you must hang in there, trusting in God to bring about a good end. The only way you can have the faith to endure events that don’t make sense in the present is to shift your focus off the circumstances and back onto the big picture.

Friday evening Ann and I watch the movie I Still Believe which is based upon events in the life of musician Jeremy Camp. At one point in the movie Camp’s fiancé is diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. She first processes what the cancer means for her life with Jeremy, then she begins to process how God’s will for Jeremy’s life and her witness may be larger than the few years she was going to be able to love and live with him.

Reaffirm your relationship with and dependence upon God.

1. It is only after honest struggles and divine perspective in God’s sanctuary that Asaph passionately affirms:

Psalm 73:23–26 ESV:2016

23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

2. Even though he started out struggling with the feeling that he was getting a raw deal, Asaph eventually realized that he was getting a great deal—a personal and eternal relationship with the living God.

3. By the end of Psalm 73, Asaph is no longer fuming about getting a raw deal. He realizes that heaven is waiting for him. The Sovereign Lord has everything under control; the wicked will pay for their wrongdoing, and God will ultimately work everything out for good. That really doesn’t sound like a raw deal after all, does it?

Conclusion:

Can you say that God is continually with you? Does He guide you with His counsel? Is there anything on earth that you desire more than God’s presence?

If you surrender your life to Him by confessing your sin and placing your trust in Him alone, you will be saved. You will have the assurance that Asaph had that after life you will be received to glory. And He will be the strength of your heart and your satisfying portion forever.