Nevertheless

I love when a writer uses good  transition words  in their writing. They are packed full of meaning and are there to help the reader understand the logic of how an idea is considered and pieced together in the writer's mind.  The writer may also use transition words to encourage or persuade the reader to think in a particular way.

This is exactly what the writer does in Psalm 73. He begins the psalm with the conclusion to his dilemma. By beginning the psalm with the word truly he is indicating that he is thoroughly convinced that God is good and wants you to believe that. 


Next, he begins to tell us how he becomes perplexed and confused in his thinking. We see him struggle through his dilemma that I mentioned in my last blog regarding the question why do the ungodly seem to prosper while the godly frequently suffer in verses 2-15. As I read these words it seems as if he is sinking deeper and deeper into despair. Have you ever been there?  Honestly speaking, I have. 

What is the turning point for this man? Where is the transition in his thinking? How does he arrive at his conclusion that God is good? I love his brutal honesty that flows off his pen in the remainder of the verses of the psalm. It was not until he entered into the sanctuary of God that he was able to reorient his thinking. Lloyd-Jones describes the process in his book as moving from rational thinking to spiritual thinking. It wasn't until the psalmist took his perplexing dilemma to God that he could see the destiny of the ungodly and his own self-righteousness as his real problem. He confessed before God how he was brutish and ignorant, and like beast before God. 


Several days ago I posted a song of Psalm 73 by Indelible Grace that has become a Tabbut favorite. When I first heard it I was struck by the use of the word beast as a way of describing the psalmist. Surely, I thought it was a lyrical representation of the psalmist describing himself rather than an actual description. I checked it out by looking it up in the Bible and was abhorred to discover that the psalmist, in his sinfulness, had described himself as a beast before God. Could that be me? Am I like a beast before God? In the midst of my pain and suffering do I trust that God is always good, no matter what the circumstance? Am I thinking rationally or spiritually?  


Two transition words that evoke a powerful punch in Psalm 73, are  truly and nevertheless. Truly God is good begins the psalm and nevertheless is the turning point where the psalmist realizes that God is always present and is always sustaining him by His power. The psalmist now sees things as they really are and has moved from irrational thinking to spiritual thinking.  


I have discovered as I have studied this psalm that it is an accurate description of the perplexing dilemmas I often find myself in, and like the psalmist I need to reorient my thinking toward understanding that God is not unaware of the issue at hand. Nevertheless, He is  continually with me holding my right hand. He will guide me with His counsel and afterward receive me to glory, ( vs. 23-24). Therefore, I too, can say with the psalmist, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.,"(vs. 26).