It is only through the lens of eternity that we see the goodness, justice, and faithfulness of God. And only in the light of eternity do we long to be near God and find him to be our portion forever.

In story after story, book after book, the Bible reminds us that no one is immune from deep, disorienting spiritual wrestlings. It’s a testament to the Bible’s unvarnished honesty, a reason we find it intuitively trustworthy, that it records the most earnest pursuers of God—the most prayerful, the most diligent, the most theologically educated—experiencing extended seasons of spiritual darkness, disturbing doubts, and even faith crises.

One of my favorite examples is Asaph. If you’re familiar with the Psalms, you likely recognize him, since he’s named as the composer of Psalms 50 and 73-83.

But Asaph was far more than a poet. He was among the most prominent spiritual leaders of his day. King David appointed him as one of the three chief Levitical worship leaders to oversee all the vocal and instrumental aspects of the tabernacle ministry (1 Chronicles 6:31–46; 15:16–17). Which meant Asaph was immersed in all that related to the worship of God. He carried significant responsibilities and was a well-known public spiritual leader.

And he had a profound struggle with doubt. He almost lost his hope in God. As a poet, he captured his struggle, and what delivered him, in verse. We know it as Psalm 73.

God Is Good to the Pure in Heart

Asaph was highly literate and well-educated. In his day, few would have had a deeper knowledge of the extant Hebrew Scriptures. And as a chief singer in an oral culture, he would have had most, if not all, of Israel’s corporate worship songs memorized. Therefore, he would have known:

• from the song of Moses that God’s “work is perfect, for all his ways are justice” (Deuteronomy 32:4);
• from the song of Hannah that God “will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness” (1 Samuel 2:9); and
• from the songs of his king and friend, David, that “the Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed” (Psalm 103:6), and “the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. . . . But the children of the wicked shall be cut off” (Psalm 37:28).

Such descriptions of God’s character were foundational to Israel’s (and therefore Asaph’s) understanding of God. The great stories from Israel’s history reinforced the belief that “truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart” (Psalm 73:1), for he “lifts up the humble; [but] he casts the wicked to the ground” (Psalm 147:6).

Foundation Begins to Crumble

However, even as Asaph led others in celebrating these foundational beliefs, his personal foundation was crumbling. He could feel his spiritual feet slipping (Psalm 73:2). Because as he sang of God’s goodness and justice, he also “saw the prosperity of the wicked,” which seemed to tell a different story (Psalm 73:3).

Given Asaph’s mature age and education, and the kind of reflection his vocation required, this issue wouldn’t have been new to him. But sometimes, due to a confluence of factors, our perspective on reality changes. Questions that didn’t trouble us before, or perhaps only mildly, now greatly disturb us. Seen in this different light, they seem to threaten our foundational beliefs about God. Doubt sets in, and we begin to feel our spiritual feet slipping. Having endured and observed faith crises myself, I’d wager Asaph experienced something like this.

As one who led thousands in singing about how much the Lord loved justice and defended the oppressed, Asaph now found it deeply disturbing that the wicked appeared to live such blessed lives. They weren’t afflicted by disease, had plenty to eat, were free from the anxieties weighing on most people, and saw their wealth increase (Psalm 73:4–7, 12). Besides that, they were cruel, proud, and blasphemous, all with apparent impunity from God’s judgment. And since God didn’t seem to notice or care, everyone else pandered to them (Psalm 73:8–11).

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