In Psalm 73 the psalmist struggles with the fact that he, a child of God, seems to be living in deprivation and hardship whilst godless people seem to be living in abundance and ease. In the end, however, his perspective is transformed. The turning point comes when he enters the sanctuary of God, the temple. The temple itself was a symbolic expression of God’s initiative to be reconciled with his people. Through the temple and its sacrifices God was telling his people that they had access to him and to his favour. This in fact is what human beings need most. True joy comes, not from things, but from relationships, and the greatest joy comes from our most fundamental relationship: our relationship with God. What the psalmist discovered in the temple, therefore, was that he already had what his heart truly desired. The problem initially was not that he lacked what his heart truly desired, but that he didn’t realise what his heart truly desired. What his heart truly desired, he already had. The problem was that he didn’t really want what he already had. So often we lack joy, not because we don’t have what we want, but because we don’t want what we have. In Jesus Christ, we have every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3), most importantly, we have the opportunity to walk with God and live in the sunshine of his love. You don’t have to attain this. You already have it. Moreover, this is the source of your joy. But do you realise this? Do you want what you have?
Ask God to tune your heart to what brings true joy.
Read Psalm 73 again.
