Why Do Good Things Happen to Bad People?
PSALM SEVENTY-THREE
In this lesson we will learn how the Psalmist Asaph resolved a difficult question with God’s help.
OVERVIEW
I’m glad God allows us to ask questions. The Bible tells us we need to be like children, and they’re never afraid to ask any questions.
Recently I read a book called Dear God, a collection of incredibly honest letters to God written by children. One by Lucy asked, “Dear God, are you really invisible or is that just a trick?” Norma wrote, “Dear God, did you mean for a giraffe to look like that or was that an accident?”
Asaph’s Spiritual Conflicts
Asaph, the writer of the seventy-third Psalm, asks a much more difficult question and describes the long-term inner conflict it caused. In verses 1–3, he says, “Truly, God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”
Asaph knows that God is good and that He honors the pure in heart. Asaph is tormented because he sees ungodly people seem to be doing much better than himself, even though he is devoted to God. This conflict bothered him so terribly that he almost slipped off the foundation of faith. He wonders, “Why do the ones who honor God with their lives seem to fare worse than the ungodly?”
Asaph describes how he views some who are ungodly. He sees them as prosperous. He says in verses 3–5, “For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men.” Asaph complains that the ungodly don’t seem to have the pains and struggles he has; they seem to be sailing through life with no problems at all. In verse 6 he says, “Therefore pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment.” They boast about their possessions, progress, and prosperity. Notice that in verses 8 and 9 he says, “They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression, they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth.” They not only boast of their wealth, but they mock God. They say, in effect, “Why are you trusting God? We don’t trust Him, and look at all we have.”
The popularity of the ungodly also troubles Asaph. Everyone seems to look to them. In verses 10–12, he says, “Therefore his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, ‘How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?’ Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches.” Asaph has noticed that society often treats the ungodly and profane with the utmost respect. It’s still that way today. Isn’t it incredible how we get caught up in the lifestyles of the rich and famous, many of whom have low values?
Asaph’s inner conflict explodes in verses 13 and 14. He says, “Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning.” He’s beginning to feel sorry for himself and whines, “Lord, I’ve tried to walk in a godly way. Look at how all these people are prospering, and look at what’s happening to me.”
Restoration of Faith
The last part of this Psalm is the real turning point because the Psalmist takes seven steps to regain his faith. We can work through spiritual conflicts this same way.
Step 1: Resist Expressing Doubts to the Weak
In verse 15, Asaph says essentially, “You know, I wanted to express how I was feeling about the prosperity of the wicked, but I was afraid I would lead some of your children astray.” Asaph doesn’t want to take anybody else down his path of frustration and unbelief.
Step 2: Return to God
Then the key action takes place. Asaph returns to the presence of God. Notice verse 17: “… I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.” By going into the sanctuary, Asaph puts himself in God’s presence. If you try to sort out spiritual problems through natural thinking, you will get into trouble. Until now, Asaph was wrestling with this problem alone. Now when he wrestles with the question in God’s presence, Asaph begins to see more than just a small portion of the picture. When you get close to God, you get His perspective. When you get far from Him, you see as the world sees. Asaph had been evaluating life on the outward accouterments of success and prosperity. But when God came back into the picture, Asaph moved out of the realm of the natural and into the realm of the spiritual, and all of a sudden things started to improve.
When we begin to have doubts like Asaph’s, our tendency is to remove ourselves from where we can find the answer. We can’t get out of the presence of God to work through spiritual struggles. Some people have gone through that, and the first thing they do is quit coming to church. When Asaph went to the sanctuary, things began to make sense to him because he saw God’s perspective.
Step 3: Review the Big Picture
When Asaph got into God’s presence, he took a look at the complete lives of the ungodly, instead of just a little slice (the outward aspect of prosperity). In verses 18 through 20 he sees that the ungodly are in slippery places; they’ve been cast down to destruction. They are brought to desolation as in a moment. They are utterly consumed with terrors. It’s like a dream. When the dream is over, there is no reality to what happened in the dream. Asaph saw the future judgment of these people he thought were so successful. He discovered that without God, men cannot have inner strength and what looks like success is often just a mirage.
There are many famous people who, from the little slice of life you see through television or magazines, seemed to have it made. The public held them in high esteem, yet their lives ended in terror and tragedy, suddenly on the slippery slope. Among the list are Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Ricky Nelson, and John Belushi. When they were alive, you might have looked at them and said, “Wow, how come they have everything? Here, I’m living for God, but they’ve got popularity, prestige, and all the money they can spend.” When you look at life like that, you don’t see the whole picture. When Asaph got into God’s presence, he got the rest of the story.
Randolph Hearst, who built the great Hearst castle near Morrow Bay and filled it with incredibly expensive art, had a standing rule that no one who visited his home could mention the word death. Every night he was afraid to go to sleep because he was tormented by fear of death. If you went to his castle, you might say, “Wow, look what this man’s got. Lord, why does Randolph Hearst have all of this? I’m trying to be faithful to you and you know what I’ve got.”
I have something Hearst didn’t have: peace. I can sleep at night. Since I came to Christ, I’ve never gone to bed afraid of dying. Not once. I know that absent from the body is present with the Lord. Do you think I would trade that for Hearst Castle? Are you kidding? No way.
Step 4: Recognize Your Mistakes
In verses 21 and 22 the psalmist evaluates himself, “Thus my heart was grieved, And I was vexed in my mind. I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.” It’s good to realize when you’ve made a mistake or when you haven’t thought through something correctly. When you realize that and don’t repeat it, you can keep from being like the person who, instead of having 25 years of experience, had one year of experience 25 times. Basically, Asaph says, “I feel stupid. There’s a lot I could have known, that I didn’t know.” He could have gone into the sanctuary much earlier to work through his questions.
Step 5: Reassure Yourself of God’s Love and Goodness
In verse 23, Asaph says to God, “Nevertheless I am contin-ually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” You see what’s happened? Now he realizes that while he was questioning God, God was never questioning him. He knows God held his hand in the past, that God holds his hand in the present, and that God will take him by the hand and lead him into future glory.
Step 6: Re-establish Faith in God
Asaph re-establishes his faith in God in verses 25 and 26. He says, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon Earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” The psalmist comes back to the real bottom line fact of life: If you have God, you have everything. You say, “Well, Pastor, I sure would like that BMW.” Well, try driving it to eternity. I’m not trying to say that nice things don’t matter. All of us, because of our humanity, need to understand that God has given us good things to enjoy and there’s nothing wrong with them unless they become the focus of our life. If you get in the game of comparison, which is what Asaph was doing, there’s always somebody with a little more. There’s no peace in that game.
The psalmist says, in essence, “I’ve have God; what else could I ask for?” The world is into price tags; God is into genuine value. Some of you may say, “I don’t know where next week’s rent is coming from.” I know that doesn’t feel good. But you have a Heavenly Father who loves you; you know He’s going to take care of you. In Him you have the most valuable relationship possible to man.
Step 7: Resolve to Stay Near God
The psalmist’s seventh step is a resolve to stay near God. “For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all of Your works.”
Now Asaph sees the wicked realistically. They’re going to perish; they’re not prosperous. The godly, who seem to suffer, will be taken to glory by God’s hand. What made the difference in Asaph’s viewpoint? He got back into sync with God.
We live in a world that bombards us with signals that totally distort our priority system by communicating that the only way to be happy is to have more, spend more, and rise to power. Then God washes that away. He says that to really live is to know God and his son, Jesus Christ, and to walk in fellowship with Him every day.
If you’ve been feeling sorry for yourself as a Christian, take inventory of what you have in Christ. Don’t let the ungodly convince you they have it made; they’re the ones taking drugs and ending their lives at their primes. They’re empty inside; you’ve got God, and He fills the emptiness you had in your life.
We don’t need to be afraid to ask questions, but we must be sure to go to God and His Word to get the right answers. We can’t let the world dictate our values and perspectives; we must get those from the Lord. The more time we spend with God, in His Word and in prayer, the more He will protect us from the natural view of life.
APPLICATION
1. List what Asaph says about the ungodly and himself at the beginning of the Psalm. List what he says about them after entering God’s presence.
| Before Entering Sanctuary | After Entering Sanctuary | ||
| Ungodly | Asaph | Ungodly | Asaph |
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2. What does James 4:8 promise those who come to God?
3. List five problems you are facing today.
Could any of the problems you listed trouble you after you die? What seems important in this life may be irrelevant in the total picture of eternity.
What does James 4:14 say life is?
To what does James 1:11 compare a rich man and his pursuits?
4. What do these verses say about wealth?
1 Samuel 2:7
Psalm 37:16
Proverbs 10:4
Proverbs 28:6
Ecclesiastes 5:19
5. Why was Jesus poor? Write the answer you find in 2 Corinthians 8:9.
6. What are some dangers of having or desiring wealth?
1 Timothy 6:9
1 Timothy 6:17
7. In the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:18–22) the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful. How are riches deceitful?
Revelation 3:17 says that some who say “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing” are deceived. What don’t they realize about themselves?
8. Randolph Hearst wasn’t the only rich man with insomnia. What does Ecclesiastes 5:12 say?
9. In Matthew 19:24–26 Jesus said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. How it is possible? (See verse 26.)
Why do you think wealth makes it more difficult for a rich person to enter heaven?
10. Read Luke 16:15. How does God feel about what is highly esteemed among men?
What does Luke 6:26 say to popular people?
11. Asaph concludes the Psalm by saying God is his refuge. When and how has God been a refuge for you?
DID YOU KNOW?
The Old Testament contains at least eleven other psalms not located in the book of Psalms. Read them and see what you think.
| 1) Exodus 15:1–18 | 7) Isaiah 12:4–6 |
| 2) Deuteronomy 32:1–43 | 8) Isaiah 38:9–20 |
| 3) Judges 5 | 9) Lamentations 3:19–38; 5 |
| 4) 1 Samuel 2:1–10 | 10) Jonah 2:1–9 |
| 5) 2 Samuel 22:2–51 | 11) Habakkuk 3:2–19 |
| 6) Job 3, 7, and 10 |
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LESSON EIGHT
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