Psalm 73:1-2

Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.

Sometimes we get more encouragement from making a par putt from 10 feet than a “tap in” birdie. It may have been inconsequential at the time, but the “par saves” are what many times keeps a round from going down a bad road. A stroke is a stroke but some seem “bigger” than others.

When we look back in life, we are encouraged by those who took the time to do the small things to help us in a time of need. We are “picked up” and made stronger in knowing we have a reliable support group of people around us. Most importantly, we should acknowledge, as did the Psalmist, that we have access to an all powerful Lord who is there when we feel susceptible to falling. His goodness is the anchor to which we can grab hold. He picks us up on the side to which we are leaning.

Psalms 73:2 gives us a great perspective how God is good when we almost “slip and fall.” The Psalmist Asaph knew he was down a wrong path and his “feet were almost gone” by entertaining a bad spirit. In the next verses, Asaph explained his troubles. He was greatly troubled by the prosperity of the wicked. They seemed to live great without any sort of visible difficulty. It was then he went to the house of the Lord and realized this prosperity was nothing but a dream for the lost.

We can get discouraged by forgetting the most simple promises of God. Asaph acknowledged the goodness of God toward His people, yet found himself almost slipping over the advancement of the sinful. When we feel ourselves “slipping”, we must quickly turn to the Lord and His written word. We will be reassured that His presence and His promises are near. The Psalmist was then encouraged by the realization in Psalm 73:24 that “thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.”