When You Feel Like You’re Losing Your Faith
This week in worship, we continue in Part 3 of our Bible Series, “How Do I Live Wisely?”
Many people ask why bad things happen to good people. Far less asked is, why do good things happen to bad people? Why is it that things sometimes seem to work out so well, at least for a while, for some folks who are ignorant of or even defiant of God and so disappointingly for some people who love God?
People of faith have wrestled with this question for thousands of years, including Asaph, who wrote Psalm 73. The prosperity of the wicked almost caused Asaph to lose his faith. What do you do when you feel like you might be losing your faith?
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When You Feel Like You’re Losing Your Faith
I received the following email yesterday from Linda Viprino and she gave me permission to share it with you.
“Hi Doug,
So what do we do when knowing that God is with us through suffering (the same suffering He has allowed to happen) isn’t enough?
The answer for me was always what I told Jack Whittles 20 years ago which I may have already shared with you. He asked me one Sunday morning before choir rehearsal and after the cancer madness, how I kept going – and I told him to just keep believing in Jesus and hold on with both hands. A few years later right before he died, Jack sent me a note saying that what I told him that morning in the Chapel helped keep him going and he thanked me again.
But here I am so many years later and still battling more physical, emotional, and financial issues that never seem to end. And of course, I’m not unique, millions are suffering and not just from covid.
And while I try not to blame God, I do know that He has allowed it to happen and is the only one who has the power to make things better.
We don’t know the mind of God or why there is so much suffering, and there it is.
Maybe it’s true that without suffering we wouldn’t believe in or need God, but does there need to be so much of it? So many kinds of illnesses that it’s mind boggling.
I try to keep going despite the issues because I think giving up would be worse.
But just because I still believe that God, being the Creator of the universe, can do what he chooses to do without my approval, doesn’t mean I’m going to accept it or be happy about it.
After all, He gave me my mind and the ability to think for myself. If He had wanted a yes man (or woman) he would have created a world of robots.
But because I know that God is the only one with the answers or the reasons why, I keep holding on with both hands hoping one day He might share some of those reasons with me.
You told me a long time ago that there are some things that we don’t have the answers to, and if you don’t know ‘why,’ you need to be honest and say you don’t know.”
Thanks for always being there. God bless, Linda
It’s hard to believe it was 40 years ago in 1981, when Rabbi Harold Kushner published the book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People.
The main question Rabbi Kushner addressed is – if the universe was created and is governed by a good and loving God, why is there is so much suffering and pain in it?
The book is dedicated to the memory of his young son, Aaron, who died at the age 14 in 1977 of an incurable genetic disease.
Many people ask why bad things happen to good people.
Far less asked, at least it appears to me, is why do good things happen to bad people?
Why do things sometimes seem to work out so well, at least for a while, for some individuals who are disobedient to or who defy or reject God and so disappointingly for some people who love God and regard the Lord with the highest esteem?
Three wisdom psalms, Psalms 37, 49, and 73 are especially concerned with this problem that has puzzled people of faith through the centuries. The Book of Job also addresses this issue. Let’s listen to the rest of Psalm 73, picking it up at verse 13:
1 Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth.
10 Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them.
11 And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
13. All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,”
I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
20 They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;
you put an end to those who are false to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works.”
How can one reconcile the belief that God is just with how unfair life is in this world?
The problem in Psalm 73 is the same as that of the book of Job that Joe preached about last week: How can one reconcile the belief that God is just with how unfair life is in this world?
The Psalm begins with a statement of faith that reflects the perspective of the Book of Deuteronomy, if you’re faithful to God, live an honorable, godly life and try to do the right thing for the right reasons, then God will be good to you and bless you. Psalm 73 begins, “Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.”
That is followed by the confession of a person who feels like he’s losing his faith. “But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”
The writer of this Psalm was a man named Asaph (ayʹsaf), a leader of one of the temple choirs. He dedicated his life to serving God. In 1 Chronicles 25:1-2 we learn that “David and the officers of the army also set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, and of Heman (heeʹmuhn), and of Jeduthun ((je-do̅o̅ʹthuhn), who should prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals. The list of those who did the work and of their duties was: 2 Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur (zakʹkuhr) Joseph, Nethaniah (neth-uh-nīʹah), and Asarelah, sons of Asaph, under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king.”
Asaph was in a position of significant spiritual leadership in the temple, but like many of us, he had experienced some difficulties in life and questioned the injustice of it all. In his experience, the wicked seemed to be healthy, attractive, prosperous, prideful, cruel in their speech, lacking empathy for others, openly defying God with no apparent cost or consequences whatsoever.
When Asaph saw the unfairness of life, his faith was almost destroyed (verses 2-16). He was ready to throw up his hands and walk away from God and his faith saying, “Why bother with God? What’s the point? What difference does it make?”
I suspect the longer we’ve lived, many of us have had moments like that. Tragedy strikes and the innocent are killed by the violent, or you’re knocked for a loop by unexpected medical or relational news or when you’re struggling to get by while others who have no regard for God live long lives or get rich through unethical practices,
Many of us have had moments when like Asaph we say, “C’mon God, if you’re there, why didn’t you do something to stop it or prevent it? If you’re there, why don’t you answer my prayers?””
The only thing that restrained Asaph from speaking out his doubts and giving up on God was his concern for the effect it would have on the faith of other people. Asaph was a leader of worship and a teacher, and he didn’t want his spiritual crisis and struggle to be the cause of many others losing their faith.
It’s like the story of the small Eastern European town that was shaken and stunned by the news that one of its most respected citizens, Abraham the cobbler, had become an out-and-out atheist. It was the sole topic of conversation all over. All said it had to be hearsay, they couldn’t believe it was true. No one had spoken directly to Abraham about it. It was still only a rumor, even though a shocking one.
On the following Sabbath, however, it became clear to everyone in town that for the first time in thirty years Abraham was not in his customary seat in the synagogue. Could he be sick? No, for when the service was over, they found him walking quietly in the street, the very picture of health. All stared, and finally Yussel the tailor, with a sudden burst of bravery, pushed forward and asked. “Abraham,” he cried, “there is a rumor you have become an atheist and you were not at the synagogue just now. Is this true? Are you indeed an atheist?” Abraham looked quietly at Yussel and turned away without saying a word.
Everyone looked at him in confusion. By the next day it was clear no work would get done in the town unless this matter was cleared up. So, a delegation was appointed, with Yussel the tailor as its head, and it was understood that they were to face Abraham in his shop and insist on an answer once and for all. In they went, and Yussel said loudly, “Abraham we must have an answer. You cannot leave matters as they are. Tell me, are you now an atheist?” Abraham replied with certainty, “Yes.” Astonished at the quick and immediate answer, Yussel said, “Then why didn’t you say so when I asked you yesterday?” Abraham’s eyes grew wide with horror, “You wanted me to say I was an atheist on the Sabbath?”
Like Abraham in that story, there was still something inside Asaph that moved him to not want to cause other people to lose their faith. Searching for an answer to the problem of the success of the wicked was so exhausting for Asaph he was worn out by it.
He wrote, “But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task.” Asaph writes that he couldn’t find the answer, “until I went into the sanctuary of God.”
While worshiping God Asaph receives a new and deeper sense of God’s presence and power. He gains a longer-term perspective on the prosperity of the wicked that reminds him how temporary their success is and how quickly their fortunes can change and how in a moment it can all be swept away.
Psalm seventy-three is valuable because it illustrates God’s openness to your prayers when you feel like you’re losing your faith.
God will listen to your complaints about good things happening to bad people and how unfair life is at times.
Asaph also gets to a place where he can admit it was stupid and ignorant of him to be envious of the wicked and to be feeling sorry for himself that God wasn’t rewarding him enough for being good or punishing others enough for being bad. That is something we’re wise to learn in our own experience – not to focus so much on why God doesn’t do something to someone else, but to focus on our relationship with the Lord in the midst of our struggles or situations because that is what we’ll get us through.
My friend Mitch once sent me the words to a country song, “Pray for You.” by Jaron and The Long Road to Love, that expresses the feelings of someone who hasn’t been able to make the move from bitterness to a deeper understanding and experience of God in the midst of pain.
“Haven’t been in church since I don’t remember when
Things were going great Til they fell apart again
So I listened to the preacher As he told me what to do
can’t go hating others Who done wrong to you
And sometimes we get angry But we must not condemn
Let the good Lord do his job And you just pray for them
I pray your brakes go out Running down a hill
I pray a flowerpot falls From a windowsill And knocks you in the head like I’d like to
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls
I pray your flying high when your engine stalls
I pray all your dreams never come true
Just know wherever you are Honey, I pray for you
Really glad I found my way to church
Cause I’m already feeling better, and I thank God for the words
So I’m gonna take the high road And do what the preacher told me to do
You keep messing up And I’ll keep praying for you
I pray your tire blows out at 110
I pray you pass out with your best friend And wake up with his and her tattoos…
Just know wherever you are, near or far, in your house or in your car
Wherever you are honey, I pray for you.”
This is not what God intends for us to do in praying for others. We’re to follow the example of Psalm 73. The Psalmist realizes the most valuable thing you can have in life is something the wicked lack – the Lord’s presence with you. None of us can take shelter in believing that we’re all good and that others are all bad. Romans 3:23 reminds us “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” all humanity is in the same boat. No one is perfect; no one is without sin. When you focus on the wickedness or shortcomings of others to the neglect of your own relationship with the Lord, you’re getting off the path.
That’s why the key word in Psalm 73 is in verse 23, “Nevertheless.”
“Nevertheless (even though I don’t understand it all, even though at times it seems like my faith is barely holding on by a thread, even as in my pain, I’ve poured out my complaint) I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel….”
There is a continuity and closeness of relationship for Asaph that’s conveyed through touch and wise counsel that’s invaluable for him. The psalm begins in bitterness and feeling separated from God because of the difficult problem of the success of the wicked and the difference between what faith expresses and believes, and life experience in a corrupt and broken world that requires a new and deeper understanding of God. Psalm 73 ends with words of great devotion and faith.
The turning point in Psalm 73 is “the great nevertheless” that doesn’t turn you away from the problems of life but turns you toward the world with all its disparities and unfairness with the confidence that God is still present and at work.
It’s good to be able to say and affirm,
“Nevertheless, I am continually with you… 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to those who are false to you. 28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works.”
The greatest thing you can have in life is a vital, real relationship with God that lasts forever, even after your body fails.
While we may find it perplexing or even troubling, God is good to people both good and bad, sinner and saint.
Jesus encourages us to an even higher spirituality than we see in Psalm 73 when he says in Matthew 5:43-48,
“43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
The demonization of those with whom we disagree has to stop.
Jesus wants you to pray for your enemies in a far different way than the country song I mentioned earlier.
He wants you to pray for their salvation and transformation, for them to develop a relationship with God where they can one day say with Asaph, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works.”
No matter what your circumstances or situation, I hope that can be your statement of faith as well, that though your body may fail, God is the strength of your heart and that it is good for you to be near God because you have made the Lord God your refuge.
Prayer by Stacy L. Sanchez
Lord, may we seek you before all else.
Before we respond. Before we react.
Before we determine. Before we decide.
Before we speak. Before we remain silent.
Before we move. Before we stay still.
Before we hold on. Before we let go.
Before. All. Else. Amen
Questions for Discussion or Reflection
- In Psalm 73, what is causing Asaph to nearly stumble and fall and lose his faith (see verses 1-16)?
- Have you ever had a time in your life like Asaph in Psalm 73, when you felt like you were losing your faith because of something that happened to you, to someone you knew, or because of something going on in the world? If so, are you able to share or reflect on what was happening that caused you to feel that way?
- One of the most difficult questions for people of faith is, “If the universe was created and is governed by a good and loving God, why is there is so much suffering and pain in it?” How would you answer that question?
- What does Asaph do, what experience does he have, that changes his perspective?
- How does regularly worshiping God help us to share our struggles and pain as well as to receive encouragement and renewal?
- The word “Nevertheless” is the turning point in Psalm 73, what does Asaph affirm from verse 23 to the end of the Psalm? How does that affirmation help to restore his attitude and strengthen his faith?
- What can you do, or what do you do, when you feel you’re losing your faith or that it’s growing weaker, to restore and strengthen your relationship with God?