Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Psalm 73:1-2
Have you ever struggled with believing in the goodness of God? There is nothing that can bring us to that point faster than pain and suffering. Life is terribly unfair. Good people seem to suffer and the wicked seem to prosper. Sooner or later we all come to the intersection of the contradictions in this journey that is called life. So what do you do at this intersection? Like the psalmist, many people see the unfairness and it causes them to want to give up. I know, we don't like to admit it, but the reality is that we have all felt like quitting. How many times have you felt like quitting - your family, your job, your church, even quitting from following the Lord?
This is what I love about the Bible, it is completely honest, and there is no pretending here. Here is the worship leader complaining about God and how he is running the universe. He is so frustrated that he wants to check out.
I was at this intersection early on in my walk with Jesus. It was just one month after I became a Christ follower that we received the news that a close family friend was playing near a rain-swollen river and had slipped in; he was just 9 years old. Our family and many others from the church showed up and looked until dark that evening for this young boy, Jay.
That night I hardly slept. I questioned the wisdom and goodness of God. How could a good God allow something like this to happen? Doesn't God care for his own? Why couldn't God have Jay just float to the other side of the river? The following morning we found Jay's little body. I will never forget the scene of his father carrying his lifeless body out of the river.
So how do we regain our footing? Incredibly in verse 17 he says he went to church. That's right! Psalm 73:17, "till I entered the sanctuary of God." It was at the funeral service for Jay that I reestablished my faith in God and regained my footing. We sang a great hymn that day, "It is Well with My Soul." During that song we sang, "Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, with my soul." It was somewhere in that song that I said to God, "Lord, I don't understand this event but because of the cross I know you are a good and loving God. Though my heart is broken, I am going to put my feet back on solid ground." That day I did not slip.
I don't know where you are on this April 1st. It is a nasty and unfair world out there. But if you are thinking of quitting today, don't. While on this side of eternity we might not be able to figure out the plan of God, we don't ever need to doubt his goodness. He did all of his explaining at the cross.
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