Comparison: The Thief Of Joy

What do you do when your theology clashes with reality? How do you hold to the conviction that God is good when life stinks? We're going to hear in today’s message some of the things that sometimes go unsaid about our struggles, our depressions, when we feel so alone and have no ready answers. To help us, we will turn to the Psalms, where the raw emotions of real people who just hit the wall are expressed, and where deep reservoirs of truth are found that can help you through. And what we'll see is that just when we think God is nowhere to be found, GOD IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK. Psalm 73 is our passage and the title is “Comparison Is The Thief of Joy.” Theodore Roosevelt is known for potentially saying that statement. And it’s biblical. Psalm 73 is a psalm that starts out with a man named Asaph, who’s convinced he’s been given a raw deal in life. Anybody relate? Ever care to ask if it even pays to serve God? When you did the right thing, but got the back of the hand anyway. Have you ever been betrayed? Ever been gossiped about? Who did you in financially? Who put the screws to you? Who did something unfair to you at work? Maybe it happened at home with a parent or grandparent, your husband or wife or best friend. If you've ever had something happen to you that was out of human control but seemed so unfair that you don't understand how a good God could let it happen, then you need to sit awhile with a choir director named Asaph. Asaph was one of three directors who worked under King David. He was one of the great worship leaders in the OT. And he's about to get as real as it gets.