Psalm 73:23-26 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

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In our world where so many people sing songs saying, “More, More, More,” we require reminders now and again that our Father in heaven owns it all and blesses us with what we need and so much more. 

Hundreds of years after Moses wrote Deuteronomy 8-10, Asaph wrote this psalm. They present a nice pairing. Take a moment as soon as possible, if not now, to read Moses and then Asaph. 

Moses describes God and his goodness, his kindness, his loving discipline, and his faithful provision of all his people required. Asaph describes how he almost slipped up due to envy (73:2). Envy steals the joy of God’s good gifts. 

Asaph tells us, 

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.
(Verses 21, 22)

Our adversary loves to tell us how God is nicer to other people than he is to us. He tells us God is holding out on us. He is withholding his best gifts. This is the trick he played on Adam and Eve. He uses it still on you and me. This stimulates envy. Envy turns into bitterness. Bitterness is a display of joyless self-centeredness bereft of any contentment. It makes us senseless. It keeps us ignorant. We become as stubborn as donkeys. 

What could be greater than owning everything your heart desires? 

Asaph discovered the answer to this question. He tells us in verses 23-26. He gives us a nice list.

1. I will never lack God’s presence (verse 23).
2. I will never lack God’s guidance.
3. I will never lack God’s wisdom (verse 24).
4. I will never lack God’s eternal provision.
5. I will never lack God’s heaven (verse 25).
6. I will never lack God’s provision on earth.
7. I will never lack God’s strength, even the strength to let go of all I have ever known in exchange for more than I can imagine possible (verse 26). 

Today we will ski past beautiful homes worth millions of dollars. We will dine in a fine restaurant. We will wear warm clothes and enjoy sitting by the fire in our room. We will do so knowing nothing is as good as the truth of Psalm 73:23. We will sing verse 28 with Asaph:

But as for me, 
    it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
    I will tell of all your deeds.

We will remember the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 10:12, 13:

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

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I will luxuriate in the goodness of God’s presence, guidance, wisdom, eternal provision, heavenly home, daily provision, and strength for whatever he leads me to and through all the way home. 

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Our Father, thank you for Moses and Asaph and their words of wisdom and guidance. Thank you for these truths which are truer than true. Thank you for your presence which again today is newer than new. Where will go and what will we see today? Wherever you lead, we will walk in your way. Amen.