- By Rev. Chandran J. Lite
- Posted 08/20/2017
Asaph finds his solution
"When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their final destiny"
Michael McCullough, and his fellow psychologist at the university of Miami have reviewed 8 decades of research and concluded that religion belief and piety promote self-control. Researchers found, deeply religious people tend to do better in school, live longer, have more satisfying marriages and be generally happier. Religion gives them internal strength- self-control. Researchers found students who spent more time in Sunday school did better at laboratory tests measuring their self-control.
So, going to church increases the quality of life and also the longevity of life. After getting fed up with living a godly life (Vs. 12-14) He turned his thoughts to God - to His Sanctuary where he found the solution he was looking for.
Asaph went to 'Church'. He brought his confusion under the truth of God. As long as Asaph tried to reason his way out of his troubled perception apart from God, he would hit his head against the wall. But in worship in the Sanctuary, we begin to see everything from God's infinite perspective.
When he went to Church - Sanctuary - everything changed. The presence of God was his focus, and not the presence of evil around him. Then in the Sanctuary he, "understood their final destiny "(vs. 17b). He found the wicked and the arrogant may be well placed from world's perspective, but from God's perspective, they are 'placed on 'slippery ground' and You cast them down to ruin' (vs. 18). Their destruction is 'sudden' and 'complete' (Vs. 19). 'They are like a dream...God will despise them as fantasies'(Vs. 20)
Asaph affirms his faith in God. He realizes after drifting away from God a bit, that God is the only ultimate reality in heaven and earth (Vs. 25). The arrogant and the wicked may be filthy rich, famous, powerful and king-makers in this world. But their being far from God would destroy them and they would perish without hope(Vs. 27). At last, the envious servant of God, now, becomes an enlightened servant of God being touched by God's presence in the Sanctuary. He reaffirms his commitment to God by saying, "But as for me it is good to be near God"(Vs.28). Check your distance from God. Are you 'far away' from God or 'near God'? Go to the Church of God on regular basis, to be in His presence, to be enlightened and enriched by God.
Yours in His service,
Servant Chandran Lite