Until I Saw God Again

📖 Motivation Monday — Until I Saw God Again

Have you ever looked around and wondered why life seemed easier for everyone else?

Asaph did.

In Psalm 73, he honestly admits that his feet "came close to stumbling" because he had become focused on what he saw around him.

Then one word changed everything.

"Until..."

"Until I came into the sanctuary of God..." (Psalm 73:17)

His circumstances didn't suddenly change.

His questions weren't instantly answered.

But in God's presence, his perspective changed.

Sometimes that's exactly what our hearts need.

Not new circumstances...

but a fresh vision of God.

💭 Today's Truth

God's presence changes our perspective before it changes our circumstances.

If life feels confusing today, don't spend all your time looking at your problems.

Spend time with the One who is bigger than your problems.

When we see God clearly, everything else begins to find its proper place.

🙏 Today's Prayer

Lord, when my circumstances begin to cloud my view of You, draw me back into Your presence. Help me remember that You have never stopped being good, faithful, and near. Change my perspective before You change my circumstances. Let me find my greatest joy not in what You give me, but in You! Hold my hand when my faith feels weak, and remind me that You are enough. In Jesus' name, Amen.

If these words express your heart today, make them your prayer. Or find your own words and spend a few moments honestly talking with the Lord.

🎙️ Today's Five More Minutes is also available wherever you listen to podcasts.

Sometimes the greatest change God wants to make today isn't in your circumstances... it's in your perspective.

Let's walk with Him today.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello, friends. Would you join with me as we spend five more minutes with God? Today is a motivation Monday. Welcome to a new week, a new opportunity to begin new things. And I challenge you to join with me every day this week as we spend five more minutes looking at God's word. And Monday is a day where we begin our week by looking at God's word for the encouragement we need to faithfully follow Jesus. Today I'd like to ask you to look with me at Psalm 73. If you have a Bible nearby, I encourage you to turn there. We're going to look at several verses here in Psalm 73 today. This Psalm was written by Asaph, and Asaph was one of Israel's worship leaders that led in the worship of the people. That matters because Asaph was not new to following God. He knew the scriptures. He led God's people in worship. And yet someone who knew the Lord so deeply found himself struggling. And this is recorded in Psalm 73. Maybe it encourages you today to know that a mature believer like Asaph would struggle in his walk with the Lord, because even mature believers have moments when life just doesn't seem to make sense. Asaph begins by declaring something he knows to be true. So listen to the first words of Psalm 73, verses 1 through 3. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling. My steps had almost slipped, for I was envious of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Now notice what happens here. Asaph knew that God was good, but what he saw around him began to cloud what he knew and what he understood about God. He watched people who ignored God who seemed to prosper. Their lives looked easy, their problems seemed like they were fewer. And before long, Asaph says, My feet came close to stumbling, he says. Not because God had changed, but because Asaph's perspective had changed. Now Asaph goes on for several verses here. He describes everything he's been looking at, all the things that he's seen around him, the success of the wicked, the unfairness of life, the questions that were filling his heart. And then we come to one of the most important words in the entire Psalm, the word until. Listen for that word. Psalm 73, verses 16 and 17. When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight, talking about all those things he saw. Verse 17 says, until I came into the sanctuary of God, then I perceived their end. Until I came into the sanctuary of God. That word until. Notice what the text does not say. It doesn't say that Asaph's circumstances changed. It doesn't say that the wicked suddenly lost their prosperity. It doesn't even say that all of Asaph's questions were answered. What changed was where Asaph turned. When he came into God's presence, when he came into God's sanctuary, he began to see everything through God's perspective instead of his own. It was no longer through Asaph's perspective, but through God's perspective. And that's where wisdom begins. Sometimes we become so focused on what's happening around us that we slowly lose sight of the God that is with us. And we have the presence of God with us as believers that we can abide in Christ Jesus. Now listen to how this psalm ends in Psalm 73, verses 23 through 26. Listen to these words. Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You have taken hold of my right hand. With your counsel, you will guide me and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And besides you, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those are some of the most comforting words in all of Scripture. Nevertheless, I continually, I'm continually with you, Asaph reminds us. Think about that. Even while Asaph was struggling, even while his perspective was clouded by what was going on around him, God had not let go of him. He says, You have taken hold of my right hand. God was not waiting for Asaph to figure everything out. He was faithfully holding him all along. And by the end of the psalm, Asaph reaches this beautiful conclusion. He says, Whom have I in heaven but you? And besides you, I desire nothing on earth. At the beginning of the psalm, he was looking at what everyone else had. But by the end of the psalm, he realized that having God was enough. God's presence changes our perspective before it changes our circumstances. When I abide in Christ Jesus, my perspective changes. My circumstances can remain the same, but my perspective changes. And friend, maybe you've been looking at your circumstances so long that they've begun to shape the way that you see God. You see God through the lens of your circumstances. If that's where you are today, follow Asaph's example. Come back into God's presence. Understand that as believers, we have the opportunity to abide in the presence of God. Come back into his presence. Open his word. Spend time with him in prayer. Worship him. Not because those things instantly change your circumstances, but because these things remind you of who God has always been and how God has always been faithful and he always will be faithful. And when you see him clearly, everything else begins to find its proper place. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, everything else falls into perspective. As I spent time with the passage today, I wrote a prayer. It's there in the description. And I challenge you to read those words, make them your own if you'd like, if they express your heart. But I hope that you will take time today and that you will spend a few moments with the Lord in prayer. Today, if life feels confusing, don't just spend more time looking at your circumstances or trying to figure things out. Spend time looking at your Savior because when you see Him clearly, everything else comes into focus. God's presence changes our perspective before it changes our circumstances. Let God's presence, his abiding presence, change your perspective as you march into this week. God bless you, friends. Join me every day this week as we spend five more minutes with God.