Psalm 73:21-28

21.When my heart was embittered And I was pierced within,
22.Then I was senseless and ignorant ; I was like a beast before You.
23.Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand.
24.With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory.
25.Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26.My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27.For, behold, those who are far from You will perish ; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
28.But as for me, the nearness of God is my good ; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.

This section of Psalm 73 is like a stab of reality and a beacon of hope put together. The stab of reality is in verse 21-22. I can relate so easily to the writer’s sentiments at this time of my life. My heart does feel embittered, and I feel pierced or wounded. I think Asaph’s picture of what we humans are like when we’re wounded is pretty much right on- we become senseless and ignorant, like a beast. We let our feelings take over and we rage at God. We forget that His way is always best, always good, and always loving. That’s why the contrast in verses 23-28 is so striking and so appropriate.
Asaph turns from his senseless and ignorant feelings to what he knows to be true about God. One of the greatest comforts to me is that God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Therefore, we can always trust in His steadfast character. I think that when we are troubled by life, perhaps the best thing to do is remember God’s character and tell ourselves of His goodness. This is what Asaph does.
I love verse 23. “Nevertheless I am continually with You,” which is as much to say that God is continually with us. He is faithful. We are continually with Him because He has chosen to be continually with us. I love how the verses 23-24 describe God’s lovingkindness- He takes hold of us, He counsels us, He guides us, and He graciously receives us to glory. Amazing.
Verse 25, 26, and 28 are what I want to develop in my own life. I’m ashamed to admit that my desire for God is mixed with my desire for earthly things. I cannot truly say that I desire nothing on earth but Him. But I believe that He has designed me to be satisfied and filled by Him, so my hope is that as I grow closer to Him, my desire for Him alone will become more pure.