Our Feelings Matter To God
Daniel Renstrom, our worship pastor, taught a great sermon on Psalm 73 today. It’s written by a minister of worship and cleansing in the temple named, Asaph. Asaph is disheartened, in the middle of a crisis of faith, as he looks at the world as the wicked boast in their sin. They hate God and mock him, and they actually get away with it on earth. They are wealthy, prosperous and Asaph is angry, confused and even envious.
He wanders why he seeks after righteousness, pleasing God when the wicked seem to get all of the “valuable” earthly things? Why is life good for the wicked and challenging for the righteous?
The passage builds to these lines:
13 Did I purify my heart
and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?
14 For I am afflicted all day long
and punished every morning.
15 If I had decided to say these things aloud,
I would have betrayed your people.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it seemed hopeless
17 until I entered God’s sanctuary.
Then I understood their destiny.
Asaph enters the sanctuary and refocuses his worship on the one true, valuable possession — the presence of God.
In his flesh, he looks at the world and sees what all there is to gain and what little he has in earthly treasures. When he looks at the power of God, he sees that his needs are fully satisfied in Him alone.
This hit home today. I struggle with envy often. I think to myself if only I had a new car, more vacation time, a rich family, a skinny figure, a boyfriend, (insert anything I do not have here), that my life would be so much more fulfilling. It’s a lie.
The truth is you can never have enough to fill that void. Knowing and following Christ is the ultimate treasure, it is our reward! This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t bless us in earthly means and meet our needs, but we no longer have to search for that. We have it!
I really liked when Daniel said something like this, “Perhaps it is the judgement of God to give people everything they want and desire. Perhaps it is the grace of God that we remain dependent on God, asking Him for our needs.”
He also asked us this, “Do you feel uncomfortable asking God for your needs?”
In my head, I answered yes. I like being self-sufficient, independent. My pride swells in those moments. It is almost as if I like being my own… god.
But God will not be second. We will find that we are puny and powerless compared to He, who is a good father. He wishes for his children to come to him and ask for what they need. Just like children, we should be dependent on Him. He’s gracious and merciful and kind, and we can trust Him.. He gives abundantly, because there is no limit for Him.
Overall, our emotions matter to God. We should take our envious thoughts to Him. Enter the sanctuary and remember that wickedness does not prevail in the end. They may boast in their unbelief, but He will not be mocked.
Take comfort that God does not scare away from your ugly emotions. He doesn’t erase them, but instead, He directs them to the right place.
