Are you inquisitive? Do you want answers? You are not alone! You wouldn’t think that Asaph, a court musician would be one of them but he is! King David appointed him to be in charge of the cymbals. When you watch an orchestra you will see only a few who carry that distinction. I mean how much training do you need to bang two cymbals together? Or so I thought! But, realistically there is a fair amount of training needed to know when one should clang those instruments as well as the technique. You can check it out – just google it like I did and you will walk away with a better appreciation of this simple but compelling instrument.

Asaph was a cymbal player but not just any cymbal player but one chosen for the Temple services. He also was like some people, very inquisitive and curious about life. Of all the people who walk this earth, there just are some people who are not satisfied with just an answer;  they want to know the “why!” Asaph falls into that category.

Many years ago I went to our pastor with questions. As he stood on a tall ladder fixing something I looked up at him and said I have a question; much like Asaph does here. His answer? Go home, study that topic and then come back and we will discuss your question. And so I did. Sometimes we have questions but we aren’t willing to do the homework to find the answer. That pastor was very wise. Maybe you have questions too much like Asaph. My advice—follow Asaph.

Asaph walked through his thinking about the proud. He analyzed them and discerned that they seemed to have it all together. They didn’t have the same problems as he and in fact, they were doing pretty darned good. He noted that they mocked and were not disciplined.  He noted, “I suffer all day long and am punished every morning.” He noted in his journal all of these thoughts and tried to make sense of it all. Then it was like he had a lightbulb moment when he entered the Temple. All of life flashed before his eyes and then he knew. Their lives might be okay now but had they taken time to consider their destiny?

 

Asaph walked away from that encounter knowing all was right with his world and all was right with him and God. He drew a line in his journal noting: God’s presence is all I need.