Week 11: Psalm 73

"Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you."

Psalm 73:25

Hey everybody!  This week we will move on Psalm 73.  It's a little different than most of the other promises that we have moved on thus far, so let me explain how I see this going.

The beginning of Psalm 73 is a little depressing.  It talks about the universal truth in life that "nice guys finish last".  I'm paraphrasing...that quote isn't from the Bible (the Christian one anyway).  Verses 1-15 talk about how those who are wicked always seem to be getting the best life has to offer, while those who do their best to live righteously fall flat on their face.  The author sums it up in verse 16, "When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me".  That seems to be a common theme when we try to understand the happenings of this broken world. 

The author gives us some great insight on what we should do when we start feeling this way though, "till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny."  When we enter into the presence of God it changes our perspective on everything.  We go from looking at things from a material, worldly, limited view, to an eternal perspective.  Upset about how "unfair" life is?  Enter the sanctuary of God (and by sanctuary I mean anywhere His presence dwells, could be church, your living room, the city park) and see if it doesn't change your mind about the very concept of "fair".

But I digress...there are many promises in this chapter:

1. God is always with us (Verse 23)
2. God holds us in his right hand (23)
3. God guides us with His counsel (24)
4. God takes us into His glory (24)
5. Where flesh and heart fail, God is our strength and portion forever (26)

Verse 28 ends the Psalm and says, "But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge, I will tell of all your deeds."  I really like this verse/promise because I have really been praying a lot, asking the Lord for more boldness to share my testimony with those around me.  Being near God and making Him our refuge makes it easy for us to share our testimony and His deeds with those we come in contact with.

The key to the promise stands in verse 25 though.  "Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you."  What do you desire on earth besides the Lord?  God brought this down on me like a hammer when I was praying about which promise to move on this week.  God lays all of these promises down at our feet - ours for the taking - but we cannot collect on them if our priorities aren't right.  It makes sense too.  Until I can honestly say, "Lord, earth has nothing I desire besides you." why would He give me more "things" to get in the way...more "things" for me to put before Him.

Jana and I have been talking about fasting to draw deeper into God.  I think this is the perfect opportunity for us to do this, and I ask that you prayerfully consider joining us.

DISCLAIMER:  I say prayerfully consider because you absolutely, 100% have to pray about this before you do it!  Jana and I have prayed about it and the Lord wants us to do this.  If the Lord does not want you to do this, you won't get anything out of it.  I have fasted without God and can tell you it's worthless...it just leaves you hungry and no fun to be around.  There is no shame in not doing this with us if you don't feel led to, just cling to the promises we have mentioned and make God all that you desire.

Jana and I have decided that we are going to do a technology fast, specifically our smart phones.  We have gotten way too comfortable spending too much time checking Twitter, Facebook, playing games, checking the weather, scores of sporting events, our e-mail...whatever else these amazing things can do now.  This alone isn't a problem...I see my smart phone and all this technology as one of the best ways I can spread the Word of God, but when some of these things start getting in the way of our quiet time with God, we have a problem.

There have been mornings that I have skipped my prayer time with God to write this blog.  Unacceptable.  There have been mornings I have thought, I'll check Facebook to see if any of my friends need prayer...and we all know how that ends.  Unacceptable.  It doesn't matter what it is, if there is anything that gets in the way of your relationship with God, it must be put in check.  This fast is a great way to set your priorities right.  Even if there are things that haven't elevated themselves in priority above God, but they are just getting too close for comfort, get them in check before they become a problem.

So ask God what He would have you do.  If He wants you to fast technology, do it!  Maybe He wants you to go traditional and fast food (not McDonalds and Burger King, but fast from food), maybe not even for a whole day or the whole week, but perhaps He wants you to fast through lunches this week, or fast on Tuesday and Thursday.  Maybe He wants you to start a month long fast or maybe He doesn't want you to fast at all.  You have to ask Him what He wants.

Then whatever He tells you, obey, move on it and watch the promises come to life!