Walking in the Word with Breast Cancer

25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  - Psalm 73:25-26 Well, the babies are returned to their home, and I can finally finish the devotion I began earlier in the day...and what a day He had planned for me!!  Diagnosis and treatment plan for cancer, surgery for one son, and a marriage proposal for the other son. Oh, and there was a major celestial event happening today, too 😉 What a day! It all just makes me smile, His plan is perfect, even when it seems chaotic and overwhelming. His plan is perfect. On to our verse.... The beautiful part of the story in this psalm is that despite the fact that Asaph questioned God's goodness, God remained faithful to respond to Asaph when he repented.  You could even argue when reading this psalms that God bestowed wisdom before he actually repented. Despite the fact that Asaph confessed being &qu

25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  - Psalm 73:25-26 So, how did Asaph fight the dark thoughts?  What did he do?  He entered into the tabernacle with God. He chose to go be with God, he took his struggle to the Lord. And when he did, God revealed the truth to Him. He opened his eyes and gave Asaph a broader perspective of life. He was given a glimpse into the greater plan of God's kingdom - the plan that you and I are part of as well. But he didn't just enter into the tabernacle, he deeply repented of his doubt - he called himself a beast before God. The good news is that we don't have to enter into the tabernacle anymore because He lives inside each one of us. We just need to go before God. But we do need to repent of our doubts if we ever hope to get to a place where we understand what is expressed in our memory verse t

25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  - Psalm 73:25-26 The crisis of faith Asaph struggled with here was doubting God's goodness. As you read through the middle verses of this psalm, you see that he questions why the wicked seem to prosper and why the Godly seem to suffer. Asaph was afflicted with suffering while the wicked seemed to be enjoying the good life.    His trust in the goodness of God was being challenged to the very core.    Was divine goodness real?    Could the God of the universe be trusted?    Why do the ungodly seem to be enjoying the blessings of life? Does choosing to live a faithful life in loyal devotion to God really matter when those who don’t love God seem to prosper? If we're being totally honest, we've all been in this same place. Why do I have to deal with this, when she gets to have that? Asaph,

25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  - Psalm 73:25-26 What believer would not want to experience the kind deep devotion to God found in these verses? This kind of loyal commitment is the desire of every person of faith....yet it eludes so many of us.  If you've been a believer for long, you know there are times it does not come easy. There is a great price involved in reaching the kind of faith found in these verses. This level of commitment is only achieved through fierce struggle.  The battle between Spirit and flesh is constant, but it is in the battle that we are strengthened when we choose to lean in and trust God, to turn to Him for our strength in the battle, and to keep our eyes fixed on Him despite what the world throws at us. Asaph wrote these words only after a difficult and confusing crisis of faith. He was tempted to com