“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
~ Psalm 73:26
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you wish that your dad and ma would spend more time working so that they will have a lot more money so that you can have a lot more things? Do you wish that your dad and ma would spend more time teaching you what is in the Bible so that you will know Who God is so that you can tell your kid friends who God is? Do you wish that your dad and your ma had another car that was a lot newer than the car that your friend has? Do you wish that your dad and ma would spend a lot more time praying and reading the Bible instead of going to parties and watching TV? Do any of your kid friends have a dad and ma who are working hard to make a lot of money and who have a lot of things – like a new car, and do a lot of fun things – like going to parties, but who do not talk to their kids about God, who do not pray to God and who do not read the Bible? Do you know how it happened that has led you to be living entities or beings on a planet called Earth? Do you think that because you are living entities or beings that the real purpose of you being living entities or beings is for you while you are living on a planet called Earth is to make a lot of money and to have a lot of things – like new cars, and to go to parties – to have fun? What do you think happened that brought about a planet called Earth to come into existence? What do you think happened that brought entities or being like you into existence on a planet called Earth? Why do you think that a planet called Earth exists today? Why do you think that entities or beings like you are alive today? Do you really think that a planet called Earth over a very long period of time became out of nothing what it is today – a proactive ‘egg’globe that rotates on its axis in almost exact twenty-four hour long cycles, that makes an almost exact yearlong loop around a fiery ‘sun’ball and that is now cloaked with water, land and life or do you think that a planet called Earth was created, placed and spun by Someone to be the way that it is today? Do you think that your ancestors – and then you, over a very long period of time became out of nothing what you are today – living entities or beings that now have the inimitable ability to think, communicate, reproduce, produce and die or do you think that your ancestors – and then you, were created by Someone to be the way and where you are today?
Your grandpaa wants you to wrestle with the question of where the planet called Earth came from and where you came from. Your grandpaa wants you to wrestle with why a planet called Earth exists and why a couple of kids like you are living entities or beings who are living on a planet called Earth. If you believe that there is no one out there in the heavens in the sky Who is right now continuously unfolding a carefully designed plan for a universe of matter and life, then your grandpaa is sure that you will dedicate your lives to making money and having lots of things – like new cars, and going to parties – to have fun. If you believe that there is Someone Who is out there in the heavens of the sky right now continuously unfolding a carefully designed plan for a universe of matter and life, then your grandpaa is sure that you will want to dedicate your lives to the Someone – God, Who has fashioned and made everything – which includes you. Your grandpaa is quite sure that every guy and gal will sooner or later find himself or herself wrestling with why he or she is a being who has life, what he or she should do as a being who has life and how come other beings who have life are much better off financially and/or relationally and/or physically and/or spiritually than what he or she is. An Asaph family clan guy somewhere around 2450 years ago scribed a psalm song about his struggles with wanting to have his life filled with prosperity plus he wanted to have good health. Even though this Asaph family clan guy could see how arrogant, prideful, callous, malicious and really bad that guys and gals were who seemed to have all the riches and good health than any guy or gal would ever want to have as they lived on this planet called Earth, this Asaph family clan guy could feel himself sliding almost out of control down a slippery sloop to be just like the guys and gals who were rich and well. This Asaph family clan guy who scribed Psalms 73 may have just returned to the land that God had promised the Israelite people group’s guys and gals – who were His specially chosen guys and gals, that they would always have to live in as their very own land if . . . from Babylonia where he had been living as an exile. The reason that God had His specially chosen guys and gals taken by Nebuchadnezzar and his army to Babylonia as exiles was to punish them for always obstinately disobeying His will. This psalm song is the first of a number of psalm songs that was written by Asaph – who was the director of one of David’s Levitical choirs, or by different guys who grew up in Asaph’s clan’s extended family.
The guy from Asaph’s clan’s extended family who scribed a psalm song about the tension that he was feeling between being rich and famous or holy in God’s eyes, had a very good awareness of why a planet called Earth exists and why he as a living entity or a being existed. The guy from Asaph’s clan’s extended family scribed in his psalm song in verse 26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” as his answer to what or to Whom he wanted to dedicate his life to between satisfying himself and glorifying God. As you get older, what or Whom will you want to dedicate your lives to between satisfying yourselves and glorifying God? Your grandpaa knows that when he lives his life to satisfy himself that he is not glorifying God and he will not feel satisfied. Your grandpaa knows that when he lives his life to glorify God that God will reward your grandpaa by filling him with a feeling of peace knowing that what he is doing is exactly what God wants your grandpaa to do.
Psalm 73 (406)