JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Q and A Segment explores the question, “Who was Asaph and what was his struggle?”

Asaph was a gifted musician in the time of David, and he used music as a tool to glorify God.

But Asaph lost focus at one point in his life, and he wrote about it in Psalm 73. In his testimony, he recalled, “I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” He started to perceive their lives on the other side of the fence as having no struggles, free from burdens, and with healthy bodies. He said, “This is what the wicked are like-always carefree, they increase in wealth.” This perspective led him to false thinking, and it is the kind of path that might tempt us if we perceive the same things. He said, “Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure.”

But before he went further down this path of envy, something gave him perspective. He entered the sanctuary of God. Then he understood their final destiny. The result was a celebration of being in relationship with God. He said to the LORD, “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.”

Asaph’s journey shows how an eternal perspective brings clarity when we come to God in a place of worship in the Year of Exploration.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com