Psalm 73 – “When My Feet Almost Slipped: Finding God is Enough”

Devotional

Day 1: When Faith Feels Like Slipping on Ice

The psalmist’s confession of nearly losing his footing mirrors our own seasons of spiritual disorientation. Life’s contradictions—good people suffering, evil flourishing—can make God’s goodness feel distant. Like Asaph, we may privately question divine fairness when prayers go unanswered or leaders fail. Yet raw honesty with God is not faithlessness, but the soil where deeper trust grows. The tension between creedal truths and lived experience becomes a holy wrestling ground. [50:18]

“But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” (Psalm 73:2-3, ESV)

Reflection: Where have life’s contradictions caused your spiritual footing to slip? How might bringing your unresolved questions to God—like Asaph did—become an act of faith rather than rebellion?

Day 2: The Allure of the Ungodly Lottery Winner

Observing the wicked’s carefree prosperity—health, wealth, social approval—can poison the soul with comparison. Like the ungodly woman flaunting her engagement ring while the faithful endure loneliness, worldly success often mocks sacrificial obedience. Asaph’s envy reveals our temptation to measure God’s favor by temporal comforts rather than eternal realities. The glitter of godless ease fades when held against the weight of glory. [54:44]

“For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.” (Psalm 73:4-5, ESV)

Reflection: What specific worldly “prize” have you envied? How might remembering the temporary nature of earthly rewards (like rotting flowers) recalibrate your desires?

Day 3: Sanctuary Eyes in a Myopic World

The paradigm shift came not through answers, but through worship. Entering the sanctuary—with its songs, sacrifices, and saints—refocused Asaph’s vision from horizontal comparisons to vertical communion. Like high schoolers obsessing over transient social standings, we need holy reminders that 90% of life’s crises shrink when viewed through eternity’s lens. Corporate worship realigns our distorted perspectives. [59:54]

“But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.” (Psalm 73:16-17, ESV)

Reflection: What current struggle might look different if viewed through the “sanctuary lens” of God’s eternal purposes? How can communal worship recalibrate your vision this week?

Day 4: Held by the Hand That Guides History

The turning point arrives not in changed circumstances, but in the unshakable “nevertheless” of God’s grip. Asaph moves from envying the wicked to treasuring the God who holds his right hand through every stumble. Like a parent steadying a child on icy steps, divine faithfulness outlasts our faltering. Eternal companionship outweighs temporary prosperity. [01:12:02]

“Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.” (Psalm 73:23-24, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you need to shift from demanding explanations to resting in the assurance of God’s grip? How does His guidance through Scripture’s “counsel” steady you today?

Day 5: The Eternal Math of Nearness

The psalm crescendos with reordered desires: heavenly intimacy over earthly inheritances. Asaph trades envy for the shocking confession that God Himself—not His gifts—is the soul’s portion. Like realizing high school popularity fades but character remains, we learn to measure wealth by proximity to Christ. Every temporal loss gains meaning when Nearness becomes the prize. [01:15:16]

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25-26, ESV)

Reflection: What lesser “portion” have you been chasing? How might making daily nearness to God your primary metric change your experience of lack or abundance?

Sermon Summary

Psalm 73 comes at the right time for suffering, loss, frustration, and heartache because God’s truth is timeless and always timely. Asaph begins with the basic confession, “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart,” but that Sunday school answer gets tested by real life. Asaph’s feet almost slip because the world does not seem to make sense. Bad guys win the lottery, good guys get hit by drunk drivers, and the wicked seem fat, slick, healthy, rich, and happy.

Asaph envies the arrogant because the wicked seem to have shalom, fullness, wholeness, completeness, while God’s people are stricken, mocked, and passed over. The wicked set their mouths against heaven, take the Lord’s name in vain, and seem to get away with it. God’s people even turn back to them, and Asaph feels the ache of watching faith collapse around him. His honesty becomes painfully sharp: “All in vain have I kept my heart clean.”

Asaph does not turn his internal crisis into a public wrecking ball. His struggle is real, but he knows that careless words can betray the generation of God’s children. The crisis becomes a wearisome task when Asaph tries to solve providence with a tiny three pound brain. The shift comes “until I went into the sanctuary of God.” The sanctuary changes everything without anything changing. The wicked still have their houses, money, and success, but Asaph’s vision gets corrected.

God gives Asaph a new perspective on the wicked. They are the ones in slippery places, and judgment is coming. Hell is real, hot, horrible, eternal, lonely, miserable, just, and awful. The wicked should not be envied because they will stand before God without Christ unless they repent and believe the gospel.

God gives Asaph a new perspective on himself. Bitterness had made him brutish, like a beast, living by instinct instead of faith. God then gives him a new perspective on God: “Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.” God never left him, even when Asaph thought he was alone.

Asaph reaches the peak of the psalm: “Whom have I in heaven but you?” God Himself becomes the portion forever. The question is no longer how much a person has, but how near that person is to God. The Lord’s table answers slipping feet and hurting hearts, not with a complete explanation, but with the person and work of Jesus Christ.

##

Key Takeaways

1. Doubt can deepen real faith Doubt in Psalm 73 is not treated as the opposite of faith. Asaph’s crisis shows that honest wrestling can either push a soul into unbelief or press it into a deeper knowledge of God’s character. The decisive issue is not whether doubt appears, but where doubt is carried. [45:50]
2. The sanctuary resets blurred vision The sanctuary does not immediately change Asaph’s circumstances. The wicked are still prospering, and the painful questions still exist. Yet worship, God’s Word, God’s people, and sacrifice correct his sight until everything changes without anything changing. [59:54]
3. The wicked stand on slippery places Asaph first thinks his own feet are slipping, but God shows him that the wicked are the ones standing on unstable ground. Their comfort is temporary, their ease is fragile, and their prosperity cannot survive judgment. Envy dies when eternity becomes visible. [64:49]
4. God Himself is the portion Asaph’s breakthrough is not that he finally gets the life he wanted. His breakthrough is that God becomes more desirable than everything he thought he needed. Earthly success, money, recognition, and even strength can fail, but God remains the portion forever. [73:13]
5. Nearness matters more than answers Asaph ends with, “It is good to be near God,” not with a neat explanation for every sorrow. The goal is not mastery over providence, but refuge in the God who holds His people. The Lord’s table makes that nearness visible through the broken body and shed blood of Christ.

## [74:50]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[38:44] - Psalm 73 for Suffering Hearts
[39:34] - Why Do Good Things Happen to Bad People?
[40:10] - Real Stories of Bewildering Doubt
[45:04] - Doubts Come in All Shapes and Sizes
[47:01] - Asaph’s Spiritual Crisis
[48:50] - Truly God Is Good
[50:18] - My Feet Almost Slipped
[51:44] - Envying the Prosperity of the Wicked
[55:28] - When God’s People Turn Back
[57:25] - All in Vain Have I Kept Clean
[59:54] - The Sanctuary Changes Perspective
[64:49] - Slippery Places and Coming Judgment
[68:22] - A New Perspective on Self
[72:02] - God Holds Asaph’s Hand
[73:13] - Whom Have I in Heaven But You?
[76:22] - The Lord’s Table and Drawing Near

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Psalm 73
“Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, ‘How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?’ Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakens, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.” [39:48]

Hebrews 10:22
“let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” [01:18:07]

2 Corinthians 4:17
“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,” [01:03:11]

John 6:68
“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,’” [01:15:36]

Observation questions

In Psalm 73, what are some of the specific things Asaph notices about the wicked that make him envious of them? [51:44]
What does Asaph say he almost did, and what does that reveal about how serious his struggle had become? [50:18]
According to Psalm 73, what changes for Asaph when he goes into the sanctuary of God? [01:00:30]
Near the end of Psalm 73, what words does Asaph use to describe God’s relationship to him and God’s value to him? [01:12:02]

Interpretation questions

Asaph begins by saying, “Truly God is good,” and then quickly admits that his feet had almost slipped. What does that tension show about the difference between repeating true words and clinging to them in suffering? [49:34]
Asaph says, “If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ I would have betrayed the generation of your children.” How can a person be honest about doubts without using those doubts to tear down the faith of others? [58:28]
The sanctuary does not remove the wicked, erase the pain, or answer every question, yet it still changes everything for Asaph. Why does nearness to God reshape a person’s vision even when circumstances stay the same? [01:04:04]
When Asaph says, “Whom have I in heaven but you?” and “God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever,” what is he saying about what a believer most needs? [01:13:13]

Application questions

When have you felt the same ache Asaph felt—watching people who ignore God seem to have an easier, fuller, or happier life? What did that do to your heart at the time? [50:52]
Envy often grows when the eyes stay fixed on what others have. What kinds of comparisons tend to trip you up most right now—money, health, family, success, influence, comfort, or something else? [01:11:10]
Asaph did not pretend everything was fine, but he also did not turn his struggle into a wrecking ball for others. When doubts rise in your life, who do you talk to, and how can you speak honestly in a way that is humble and careful? [58:53]
The sanctuary reset Asaph’s blurred vision. What usually helps you draw near to God when your heart is slipping—gathered worship, Scripture, prayer, the Lord’s people, quiet repentance, or something else? Which of those has been neglected lately? [01:02:49]
Asaph realized that bitterness had made him act like a beast instead of living by faith. When disappointment settles into your heart, how does it usually come out—in anger, sarcasm, withdrawal, self-pity, numbness, or something else? [01:08:22]
“God himself is good” is easy to say and hard to live. If God does not give the outcome you want in one area of life right now, what would it look like to still say, “Whom have I in heaven but you?” [01:15:05]
“It is good to be near God.” What is one concrete way you can pursue that nearness this week, especially in the place where your heart feels weakest or most confused? [01:14:50]

Sermon Clips

43s

#ComeNearJesus

“``We come to the table not because we are worthy, but because Jesus is. Not because we have perfect faith, but because we have a perfect God who is faithful. And not because we understand everything, but because we know the one who holds us. So if your feet are slipping today, come near. If your heart is hurting today, come near. If you're full of questions today, come near. If you've been running from God, come near. Because sometimes the answer isn't a complete explanation. The answer is the person in the work of Jesus Christ.”

37s

#SanctuaryPerspective

“Everything changes for Asaph, and here's the interesting thing. Everything changes without anything changing. Did the wicked suddenly get punished? Did Aesef suddenly get a promotion? Did anything change? Everything changes without anything changing. Nothing changes when you want everything to change, but everything changes when you go to God, when you go to the sanctuary, when you go to his people, when you're renewed in your perspective.”

66s

#DoubtCanLeadToFaith

“Doubt isn't the end of real faith. For some, doubt can be the beginning. Doubt can either push us away from God into unbelief or doubt can move us into a deeper understanding of God's character. The question is what do you do with your doubt? Doubt isn't always a sign that a man is wrong. Sometimes doubt is a sign that a man is thinking. Doubt isn't the opposite of faith. It's easy to believe that God exists when things are good and family and friends are doing well, when prayers are getting answered and life's and people are getting healed and life seem and you feel like you're close to God. But what happens is that that is not the experience of life. Life is not consistent like that. There are challenges. There are difficulties. There's death and disease and divorce and heartache and unbelief.”

30s

#MoreOfGodNotStuff

“Why do they have so much and I feel like I have so little because I'm looking at the wrong thing? The word says you need money, you need success, you need a better house, you need the newest phone, you need that promotion, you need more recognition, and what I've realized is that all I need is more of him. If I get everything I wanted but I don't have God, would I ever actually be satisfied?”

Ask a question about this sermon

The Bridge Community Fellowship This sermon · AI assistant

Why do the wicked often prosper temporarily?

How should believers respond to spiritual doubt?

What changes when one draws near God?

Psalm 73 – “When My Feet Almost Slipped: Finding God is Enough” – August 9