Joshua Harris presents an exposition of Psalm 73 to talk about whether God is enough. Not in the sense of questioning if He is enough, but if we can really say “God is enough” with true sincerity and belief. Is God enough? We want to say yes, but a majority of us can’t.
Harris opens with verses 25-26, where the Psalmist, Asaph, says that “there is nothing on earth that we desire”. A majority of us just can’t relate to that statement! However, if we only read verses 25 to 26, we would be discouraged. But Asaph does not start out the Psalm in such a fashion.
Asaph begins with grumbling and bemoaning the apparent prosperity of those around him who do not honor God. This is something that many of us can relate to. People who are not honoring God in their relationships and in the work place appear to be prospering. We may tell ourselves that they are miserable inside, but that we realize that no…they are genuinely happy. Their lives are so simple because they don’t need to worry about guarding the hearts of others nor try to maintain such a high standard.
So why should they be happy? They aren’t the ones honoring God and it is I who is trying to please God. What is God doing for me?
Harris then begins to present some probing questions:
Is there envy in your heart?
Is there envy of unbelievers being so happy? Is there envy of Christians who seem to be showered by blessings and you are passed by?
Are you tempted to grumble against God?
Do you complain in your heart about how God passes over you again and again? Are you displeased with how your life is going and it is all God’s doing?
We see that in verse 25 there is this massive change from a disgruntled Psalmist to a Psalmist who abandons the world and declared that God is enough. Where does this change occur? It occurs in verse 17, when Asaph “entered the sanctuary of God” and “understood their [unbelievers] final destiny.”
So how do we get to that same place as Asaph? How do we get a verse 25 viewpoint? Harris presents 3 practices:
Stop thinking about them and start looking at Him
Ask yourself where your focus is. Asaph started the Psalm by looking at “them,” whoever they may be. God is asking us to turn away from envy and comparison. Harris quotes a pastor who said “all comparison [to other humans] is sin.” All comparison to others is sinful pride or envy. Our sovereign God has us in a place for a specific purpose. Embrace in faith that it is beneficial and good. We have to actively consider all that we don’t have and then draw near to God. We should not wait for a mystical “sanctuary” moment. To have a “sanctuary” moment is to obey James 5:8, get serious about mortification of sin, and Josh Harris lists several other examples.
Consider the destiny you have been rescued from
Psalm 73:18-19 talk about the wrath of God. Everything mentioned in v. 18-19 should be done to us. Why? Because we have done everything from v. 1-11. Thus, we should not only consider the ends that nonbelievers will reap, but also the ends we were saved from. If we truly focus on our great need to be rescued, we will have only gratefulness and not disgruntled envy.
Remember who holds you and guides you
Asaph realizes in the verse 23 that he is still with God because God has kept him. He sees that God saved him, sustains him and will welcome him into glory. Asaph looks past the temporal and immediate and looks into the only one who can ensure salvation.
SOURCE INFORMATION
From: New Attitude (Na) Conference
When: 2004
Title: Is He Enough?
Speaker: Joshua Harris
Download: Source – Sovereign Grace Ministries
I think Joshua Harris adequately deconstructs Psalm 73 in terms of what our response should be in terms of recognizing God for who he is and what he has done as opposed to first examining others and contrasting their respective situations to our own.
Does Harris’s description also explain how Asaph reached his conclusion at the end of the psalm? What prompted the switch in tone in the middle of the psalm? Did Asaph actually practice the strategy delineated by Harris, or was something else at work here? Can we really reach the v. 25 standard just by following a 3-step plan? Or is there another element?
I suppose what I am asking is more of an epistemological exercise than a strict application of the text of Psalm 73. If such a discussion is appropriate here, then I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts.
If not, then I would ask this instead: how can we help each other toward the goal of having God be our only desire?
Hey Lucas,
Sorry, this is a brief response not really answering any of your application questions/entering into discussion about the implications of the text.
First of all, sorry I didn’t really make everything in Harris’ seminar especially clear. I did mention only briefly that Harris notes and discusses the turning point of Asaph’s view in verse 17. Asaph describes this change stemming from “entering the sanctuary.” So that’s what Harris focuses on for a good portion of his talk, and from there he dives into the three different exercises that he sees in the Scripture.
And sorry a second time because I didn’t really make it clear the way Harris came up with those three steps. The different exercises were things that he saw Asaph doing. So each exercise was an “application” from the Scripture, modeling after what Asaph himself did. So I think it may be reversed, that Harris is trying to summarize what he sees Asaph doing and his exercises correspond with what he sees Asaph himself doing.
I don’t think that Asaph’s example is necessarily the universal way of reaching a “v. 25 standard”, but it definitely is one way. I think God blessed us with Psalm 73 as a reminder of not comparing ourselves to others and at the same time as an example to follow. When we see progressions like this in the Psalms, like the famous “How long, O LORD?” (Psalm 13), whereby the author starts in a state of despair and by the end of the passage has somehow reached an entirely changed state of mind, I simply cannot relate. But I feel like these kind of passages provide examples of how to think through certain issues when we feel like giving up and we just cannot understand why God is acting a certain way. Definitely these passages don’t provide a universal “step-by-step” program to reaching complete dependence and satisfaction in God. But I do think that they help provide examples of how to process certain circumstances and grow from them.
About an element that is maybe missing…I would maybe not say that there’s an element missing since each of these types of “progression passages” deals with a different type of circumstance I feel. But what I do feel that there may be a certain common element that runs through all of them. Just comparing Psalm 13 and Psalm 73, I think the one common theme is, in the end, meditation on the gospel and the salvation that God has authored and the salvation that he promises to those born of God. So I guess, laying all “step-by-step” progression models behind, that meditation on the gospel is the “missing element”. It is the thing that can pull us out of any circumstance and cast ourselves fully on His grace.
I think a good question to ask here would be what to do if meditation on the gospel does not bring comfort and is not comforting? When the gospel has lost its fire and convicting message, how to rekindle that fire?
I really like your last question Lucas, and will definitely think about it some more before posting some thoughts. It would be awesome if we could come up with some real good practical steps and remind each other to practice them throughout the year.
These are great questions! It’s definitely an issue that is essential to work through when it comes to the Christian faith. I think discussing and pouring over Scripture in genuine Christian fellowship with other believers is an avenue for “rekindling the fire.” I recommend John Piper’s book, “When I Don’t Desire God.” It’s an excellent read for this subject.
A brief note on how the sermon/seminar/lecture summaries will work differently from book chapter summaries is included in the new FAQs section. Just a heads up.
Just a quick technical suggestion.
I didn’t see the podcast link for ages! You might want to make it a bit more obvious..I thought it was just an article.
p.s – love the smiley at the bottom ^_^