God I Have Some Questions

“Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭73:25-26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This scripture is often quoted and loved and it absolutely should be. However, I find the entirety of Psalm 73 to be amazing. The writer of this Psalm comes to this conclusion only after contemplation and questioning. He questions God and the benefit of living a holy life.

In verses 3-5 he writes, “For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.”

‭‭Isn’t this the opitimy of “the grass is greener” syndrome. People with money, people with power, people who take what they want, seem to get away with it and live pleasurable lives.

The author continues his contemplation in verses 11-14 “What does God know?” they ask. “Does the Most High even know what’s happening?” Look at these wicked people— enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply. Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.”

Now he is questioning God. We still do this today. When tragedy strikes, we question God. We question His ability to do His job or if He’s even paying attention. Doesn’t He see all this sin? Why won’t He do anything about it?

The second part is a questioning of living a godly life. The Christian life is one of humility, sacrifice, and self denial, and sometimes it seems like what’s the point? Where’s the pay off? Wickedness looks like a lot more fun. And truthfully it is. Sin is fun. Let’s not lie to our children or youth groups or even adults anymore. It is fun to sin. It is fun to walk in our flesh BUT that pleasure is temporary and carries consequences. Once the fun wears off we either need our next dose or need to top the last because the last won’t do. It’s the reason violence can escalate. I need a new rush, a new thrill. The flesh is never satisfied. ‭‭Sin will take you further than you wanted to go and take more than you wanted to give.

I love the next section of verses. “So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is! Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.” (Verses 16-17‬)

We spend so much time trying to figure these things out. We try to find a satisfactory answer to good versus evil. We try to use our finite intelligence to understand God’s infinite wisdom. The true answer is verse 17 “Then I went into Your sanctuary...” He went to God’s house. He went to worship. He strengthened His intimacy with God. He took the focus off himself and his questions and redirected his purpose to God. Then he got an answer.

We can spend so much time questioning God that we don’t see how inward and self focused we’ve become. When we shift from “me “ to “Him” we often find what we were originally looking for. I think of Saul, later Paul. In Acts 9 when he encountered Jesus, scales fell off his eyes and he could finally see. He saw not just in the natural sense but also spiritually. He realized the path he was on and the intentions he had in persecuting the church were not pleasing God or directed by God. The question isn’t why are people getting away with this, it’s how do we get them to encounter Jesus. Only then do scales fall off and sin is truly exposed and reconciliation to God happens. Jesus changes us.

Next we come to verses 21 and 22. “Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant— I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.” Time spent with God exposes our inner parts. He realized he let his questioning of God and godliness lead him to bitterness. Isn’t that the truth?! I am in no way saying that we can’t question anything in scripture or God Himself. However there is a big difference between whining and questioning, jealousy and questioning, envy and questioning, accusations and questioning. In questioning God I believe we can still be reverent of Him. When we remove the reverence we take Him down to our level of personhood and assign Him human traits that do not fit, belong, or negate His sovereignty.

Finally after all this, we come to the beloved, often quoted set of verses. “Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.” I may falter but, God is my strength. I may make mistakes but, God is my strength. I may get carried away in my questioning and reasoning but, God is my strength.

He ends this Psalm with verse 28. “But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.” After all his contemplation he comes to three conclusions: God is good. I need to be near Him. I will tell others about His goodness. That is the answer to so many things in life. Life doesn’t change the goodness of God, my need for Him, and that I am so fulfilled by Him I want others to share in this too. God is my strength!