Asaph is a godly leader who’s in the middle of such a dark time that, looking back on it, he says, “My feet almost slipped” (Psalms 73:2). In other words, he almost lost his faith. What do you do when you’re going through something like that? How do you persevere?
Notice what Asaph says, “I won’t go where my despairing thoughts are leading me.” That’s where the turn begins. We say to God, “Give me an answer!” God says to us, “Give me a commitment.” We say, “I need to understand.” God says, “I want you to follow.”
If I had followed where these thoughts were taking me, I would have let everybody down. If I had gone where my confused mind was going, I would have become the Judas of the Old Testament. I would have betrayed your children. Asaph doesn’t want to go there, and so he takes himself in hand.
The turning point begins with a decision
Asaph’s turn did not begin with an answer, but with a decision. His problem was that he could make no sense of what God was doing in the world. He could make no sense of what God was doing in his life. He could no longer see the point of pursuing a godly life.
You would think that that the turning point of his life would begin when he gets some answers. But that’s not Asaph’s story. Asaph wants us to know that the first step to turning your life around is not finding an answer, but making a decision. While his mind is driving down the dark road of despair, he makes a decision: I’m not going any further down this road.
In with a question, out with a decision
“If it is possible, let this cup be taken from me.” Matthew 26:39
Jesus came to the Garden of Gethsemane, struggling with what God the Father was doing in his life and in the world. He wanted to know if the cup of suffering on the cross could be taken from Him. Jesus goes into the garden with a question: “Can this cup be taken away?” He comes out of the garden with a decision: “May your will be done.”
Maybe you’re facing a crisis in your life right now. Things have been going wrong. Your mind is confused. You don’t have any answers. You need to make a decision. If you follow the impulses of your confused mind, you’ll spoil your testimony. If you follow the thoughts that are running in your mind, you’ll blow your marriage. If you follow the inclinations of your heart, you’ll no longer be useful in ministry.
Don’t go there! Make a decision to stop that way of thinking. Make a decision to stop that way of acting. Climbing out of the black hole does not begin with an answer. The first step to turning your life around is not in looking for an answer, but in making a decision.
This week's Scripture: If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed your children. Psalms 73:15
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