When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me. Psalm 73:16 (NIV)
Asaph is saying, “When I looked at the problems in my life and at the problems in the world, I kept asking, “Why is this happening?” My mind went around and around, trying to figure it all out, but I couldn’t. It was oppressive to me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it!
It is a terrible thing when your mind is confused. The second step in Asaph’s recovery was to straighten out the confused thinking that had reigned in his mind.
Now how does this happen? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out that some Christians have one simple answer for everything: “Just pray about it.” But it’s not easy to pray when your mind is confused. If you can’t think straight, you can’t pray straight!
What can you do when you aren’t able to pray? Asaph tells us: “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God” (73:17).
Asaph lived at the time of David. The sanctuary was the place of worship. Remember, the temple wasn’t built until later, during the time of Solomon. The sanctuary was where David had placed the ark of the covenant. The ark was a large wooden box that was carried on poles, and by the time of David, it was nearly five hundred years old.
The ark’s significance was that it was the place where God had said He would meet with His people. Now the ark was kept behind a curtain, so when Asaph went into the sanctuary he couldn’t see it, but he knew it was there. The ark behind the curtain was God’s way of teaching us that even though we cannot see Him, He is with us.
Are you confused? Are you finding it difficult to pray? Perhaps you have stopped meeting regularly with God’s people. Jesus said, “Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20).
