Faith In The Face Of Doubt Series

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Series: The Inner Journey

Final Message: Faith in the Face of Doubt

Text: Psalm 73

INTRODUCTION: WHEN FAITH COLLIDES WITH REALITY

Every believer eventually faces a moment when what they believe about God collides with what they observe in life.

You confess, “God is good.”

But what you see looks confusing.

You declare, “God is just.”

But injustice seems to win.

You say, “God blesses the righteous.”

But the wicked seem to prosper.

Psalm 73 is not written by an unbeliever.

It is written by Asaph - a worship leader, a spiritual leader, a man entrusted with ministry in the house of God.

And yet he says:

“But as for me, my feet had almost slipped.”

Not completely fallen.

But dangerously close.

This is not rebellion.

This is honest doubt wrestling with faithful theology.

And if this series has been about The Inner Journey -

this is where the journey reaches its climax:

What do you do when doubt knocks on the door of your faith?

1. A CONFESSION OF TRUTH - AND A CONFESSION OF STRUGGLE (vv. 1–3)

Asaph begins with solid theology:

“Surely God is good to Israel.”

That is covenant language.

That is doctrinal clarity.

That is Sunday morning confidence.

But verse 2 shifts:

“But as for me…”

This is personal.

This is raw.

“My feet had almost stumbled.”

The tension is this:

He knows God is good -

but he doesn’t understand what he sees.

Verse 3 tells us the trigger:

“For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”

Envy entered his heart.

The inner journey always begins internally.

He wasn’t doubting God’s existence.

He was doubting God’s justice.

And here is the spiritual danger:

When comparison enters the heart, stability leaves the feet.

2. THE CRISIS OF PERSPECTIVE (vv. 4–16)

Asaph begins to catalogue what he sees:

• They have no struggles

• Their bodies are healthy

• They are free from common burdens

• Pride adorns them

• Violence clothes them

• They mock heaven

• They increase in riches

And nothing seems to happen to them.

Then he reaches a devastating conclusion:

“Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure.”

That is a dangerous thought.

He begins to question the value of obedience.

This is what doubt does when left alone -

it rewrites your theology based on temporary observations.

Verse 16 says:

“When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me.”

The Hebrew idea here carries the sense of mental exhaustion.

Doubt is not just intellectual.

It is emotional strain.

And this is where many believers live quietly -

loving God publicly

but wrestling privately.

3. THE TURNING POINT: PRESENCE CHANGES PERSPECTIVE (v. 17)

Then comes one of the most powerful “until” moments in Scripture:

“Until I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.”

Nothing in society changed.

Nothing in the economy shifted.

Nothing about the wicked improved or declined.

What changed was where he positioned himself.

He entered the sanctuary.

The sanctuary represents:

• The presence of God

• The Word of God

• The perspective of eternity

In God’s presence, he sees what he could not see before:

• Their prosperity is temporary

• Their stability is an illusion

• Their end is destruction

The wicked are not standing securely -

they are on slippery ground.

The man who thought he was slipping realizes

he was the only one on solid ground.

Faith returned not because life got easier,

but because eternity became clearer.

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4. HUMILITY, REPENTANCE, AND REALIGNMENT (vv. 21–26)

Now the tone shifts inward again.

Asaph reflects:

“Thus my heart was grieved, and I was vexed in my mind.”

Then he confesses:

“I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.”

This is repentance language.

He recognizes that his envy distorted his thinking.

But notice what follows:

“Nevertheless I am continually with You;

You hold me by my right hand.”

This is grace.

Even when his perspective was wrong,

God’s grip was steady.

This is the beauty of the inner journey -

our doubts do not cancel God’s faithfulness.

Then comes one of the most beautiful declarations in Scripture:

“Whom have I in heaven but You?

And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.”

This is purified faith.

Not faith based on blessing.

Not faith based on comparison.

But faith based on nearness.

He concludes:

“My flesh and my heart fail;

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

That is covenant confidence restored.

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5. THE FINAL CHOICE (vv. 27–28)

Asaph now sees clearly:

Distance from God leads to destruction.

Nearness to God leads to life.

And he makes a decision: