Envy, Distraction, and the Narrow Road: Asaph's Warning for Us Today

Are you overwhelmed by the choices life puts in front of you? In this episode of the Confidence in God podcast, host Julie McGhghy simplifies the path forward by exploring Jesus' teaching in Matthew 7:13-14 — the narrow road that leads to life versus the broad road that leads to destruction.

Julie unpacks the beautiful promises of God found throughout the Psalms, showing how He holds our hands, guides our steps, and keeps us from falling as we travel the narrow path. But she also gives an honest look at how we can become vulnerable to slipping — through envy, distraction, and fixing our eyes on the seemingly carefree lives of those who ignore God.

Drawing on the raw and relatable journey of Asaph in Psalm 73, Julie explores how one man nearly lost his footing on the path of righteousness — and what brought him back. You'll be reminded of the community of believers walking alongside you, the encouraging examples God places in your life, and the timeless call of the hymn Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.

Whether you're running strong or feeling like you've twisted your ankle on the road, this episode will renew your confidence that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.

Resources: 

Building Confidence Resources 

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus 

Episode Timeline: Total Time 16:05

0:00 — Welcome & Introduction: Host Julie McGhghy introduces the episode and its focus on walking with confidence in God.

0:11 — The Two Paths: Introducing Jesus' teaching on the narrow path that leads to life and the broad path that leads to destruction

1:00 — God's Promises to Keep Us on the Narrow Road: Key scriptures showing how God holds our hand, orders our steps, and keeps us from falling 

3:14 — Why Do We Still Stumble?: Examining why believers sometimes slip despite God's faithfulness

4:57 — Introducing Asaph and Psalm 73: Asaph's confession that he nearly slipped from the path of righteousness.

5:41 — The Danger of Envy and Comparison: How Asaph took his eyes off God to observe the seemingly carefree lives of the ungodly — and fell into envy.

8:05 — The Community Around You: The encouragers and examples God places on the narrow road with us — and how we lose sight of them when we look the other way.

10:32 — Asaph's Return to God: Asaph goes back to the sanctuary, repents, and rediscovers the goodness of God.

11:30 — Recap & Key Takeaways: Summarizing how we stay on the narrow path and guard against envy and distraction.

12:28 — Hebrews 12:1-2 & Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus: A call to fix our eyes on Jesus, illustrated by the beloved hymn.

13:55 — Closing Prayer: Julie leads a prayer for focus, confidence, and trust in God.

Transcript

Speaker 0:00

Hello, and welcome to the Confidence in God podcast. I am your host, Julie McGhghy, and our goal today is to help you walk with confidence in God.

Speaker 0:11

Oh, so many paths. Do you sometimes get overwhelmed by the choices you can make in life that changes what path you take? Today we are going to simplify that. We're going to consider the two paths Jesus identified in Matthew 7:13-14, when he describes our choices between the path to the narrow gate, which is hard and leads to life, and the path to the wide gate, which is easy and leads to destruction. We'll see that we can have confidence in God to help us stay on that narrow road that leads to life, but also identify how we can become vulnerable to slipping off of that path. But don't despair. We identify it to help us avoid that situation.

Speaker 0:59

Before we get to worrying about falling off the narrow road that leads to life, let's consider the confidence we can have in God to keep us on that path. One of my favorite verses that gives me confidence is Psalm 37:23-24. It reminds us that the Lord orders our steps and delights in our way. Even though we fall, God continues to hold us with His hand. The Zondervan Bible Commentary explains these two verses by stating, "The Lord establishes the godly even in times of adversity. They may stumble, but they will not fall, for the Lord keeps them from falling."

Speaker 1:42

There are many other verses that illustrate how God stabilizes us by holding us by the hand, providing a way out of temptation so that we can stand, allowing us to soar to new heights and yet enables us to stand on those heights, and even broadening the path. You'll find these encouraging verses in 1 Corinthians 10:13, Psalm 18:30-33, Psalm 73:23, and Psalm 18:36. Every one of them lets us know we can have confidence in God, and each of them speaks in terms of slipping and falling, or the opposite, which is to be able to stand firmly without slipping, falling, or twisting our ankles.

Speaker 2:34

We are all on a path to our final destination. We are either on the broad path that leads to destruction, which is an eternity in hell, or the narrow path that leads to life, which is an eternity in heaven. When these verses talk about slipping and falling, they are referring to slipping off the narrow path to heaven. Notice that there is no concern about slipping off the broad path that leads to destruction. It is very easy to stay on that path and no need for anyone to hold our hands for us to make our final destination if we are traveling the broad path that leads to destruction.

Speaker 3:14

But when we travel the narrow path, that path is narrow and pocked with temptation and obstacles that might cause us to stumble and fall off the path. Even if we do not fall off the path, these temptations and obstacles can cause a delay in our progression, meaning delaying our spiritual growth, symbolized by the twisting of our ankles. When we are traveling this more difficult narrow path, we need not fear that we will fall off the path because God holds our hand.

Speaker 3:49

There are other verses that show us that not only does God hold our hands so that we do not fall off the narrow path, He also guides us along the way, watching over us, helping us maneuver down this narrow path and avoiding the pocks of temptation and obstacles. Check out Psalm 16:11, Psalm 23:3-4, and Psalm 121:7-8, as examples. We can have confidence that God is going to hold our hand and guide us along the narrow path that leads to eternity with Him.

Speaker 4:28

Why then do we sometimes stumble? Why do we know people who have known the way but have fallen off the path, or who have twisted their ankles and are lying on the road but not progressing, no longer running the race as Paul described our spiritual journey?

Speaker 4:47

Psalm 73 sheds some light on one reason we slip and fall on our journey despite the fact that God is holding our hands. Psalm 73 is a Psalm of Asaph. Asaph is singing about his own experiences. Although he begins by affirming that God is good to those with a clean heart, he then confesses that he almost slipped from the path of righteousness. What caused him to almost slip, possibly twisting his ankle and causing a delay in his progression down the narrow path? Asaph took his eyes off God and began turning his head to the right and to the left, observing those people who traveled the wide path.

Speaker 5:33

Frankly, Asaph admitted that he envied the arrogant and ungodly because of their prosperity. Asaph saw that those traveling the broad path that leads to destruction seemed to be carefree and unconcerned about tomorrow. They seemed like gods who do not suffer from the frailties, adversities, diseases, and toilsome labor common to most people. Their eyes sparkled because everything was going well for them. They did not regard God and His commandments. Instead, they were puffed up with pride, leaving behind a trail of violence, living at the expense of others. Asaph determined that the wicked ruled with their tongues, intimidating and instilling fears in others, acting as if they can get by without responsibility to God. What distressed Asaph the most is that it seemed as if God let the wicked get by with their wickedness.

Speaker 6:40

What was Asaph's reaction to observing those who traveled the broad path? He began doubting the value of his own concern about living a life pleasing to God. He felt chastened and plagued every morning, which probably refers to his own mental turmoil as he focused on the carefree lives of those who disregard God, yet were not punished in any way, while Asaph was, at least until he lost his focus, striving to live a righteous life, keeping his heart pure and his hands clean from sin.

Speaker 7:20

Who else did Asaph lose sight of as he began stretching his neck to view those who were traveling the broad path without regard to God? He lost sight of all the people who had been walking with him down the path of righteousness, encouraging him, being an example for him. When he was in the midst of the crowd that he usually walked with, the people with the same values and goals to please God and live in eternity with Him, Asaph had to twist, turn, stretch his neck, maybe use the shoulders of someone next to him to help him jump up and see over the crowd. Asaph had to be intentional about observing the lives of the ungodly in order to notice all of these characteristics that really bothered him. This wasn't a casual glance. He expended great effort to see the lives of the ungodly, and then he focused on them. He observed for a long period of time, imprinting their lifestyles on his mind and heart, causing him to envy the ungodly.

Speaker 8:39

Oh, I hope you can learn this lesson from Asaph. When we are walking together down the path of righteousness, striving to live according to God's teaching, we are generally surrounded by others who are walking the same way with the same values and the same goals. We walk with others who are living examples for us, encouraging us, building us up as we walk and grow in the Lord.

Speaker 9:08

Each of us have people we can think of that help us keep God in focus and stay on the narrow path. Take a moment and think about those people in your life.

Speaker 9:20

Who lives a humble life focused on God and ministering to others, always putting the needs of others before themselves?

Speaker 9:29

Do you also have older saints in your life that have been a bright example of longevity in walking with God? Those people often offer tremendous encouragement to those of us who are following in their footsteps.

Speaker 9:44

How about those people who are in the same stage of life as you are? They are walking the same path you are and struggling with the same issues in their families, and you learn from each other as you both do it well or learn from the mistakes each of you make.

Speaker 10:02

Now, picture yourself in the midst of all these people walking down a narrow path. You are squeezed together, walking the same way on this narrow path. Can you easily see those who are not on this path? Those who are traveling on the broad path that leads to destruction? No. You have to really twist, turn, stretch your neck, use someone else's shoulders to help you jump up and see over the crowd.

Speaker 10:32

Fortunately for Asaph, he realized his error and went back into the sanctuary of God. There he began to understand the end of those who are carefree and walking down the paths to destruction. And there he repented of his foolishness and acknowledged the goodness of God once again, saying to God, "I was brutish and ignorant. I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You hold my hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward, you will receive me to glory. Whom have I have in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Speaker 11:30

This was a lot of information. I'll briefly recap it. We can be confident in God. He holds our hands, broadens the path beneath our feet, keeping us from falling from the path of righteousness. He watches over us and guides us along the path that leads to eternal life with Him. But we must be careful because we can break free from God's hold like Asaph almost did.

Speaker 12:00

We lose focus on God and break free from His hand when we strive to observe the lives of the ungodly, comparing their lives to our own and becoming envious of what may appear to be prosperity and nonchalance.

Speaker 12:16

We also lose sight of the examples and encouragers that God places on the road with us when we focus on the lives of the ungodly.

Speaker 12:27

Let's take seriously the admonition of the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 12:1-2, which states, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Speaker 13:09

Verse two, and Asaph's experience is so beautifully illustrated in the old hymn Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. "O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There's light for a look at the Savior, and life more abundant and free. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."

Speaker 13:44

Let us keep our eyes on Jesus, standing firm in the confidence that we have in Him based upon the promises in His word.

Speaker 13:55

Oh, Lord, we come to you today and we thank you. We thank you we can have confidence in you. We thank you your word is true. We thank you for holding us by the hand, for broadening our paths, for guiding us along that path, Lord Jesus. Help us to stay focused on you. Help us not to get caught up in the things of this world, be it the pleasures of this world or the hopelessness of this world, but to keep our eyes on you and continue walking with you. Thank you, precious Jesus. You are worthy of all praise, glory, and honor, and we trust you. In Jesus' name, amen.

Speaker 14:43

Now, I invite you to check out a resource at confidenceingod.com/resources. Five Steps to Experience More Confidence in God will help you experience more confidence in Him. Just click on the link in the show notes and click on the resource. Also, I'll leave a link to a performance of Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus by Hillsong Worship. I hope you will spend some time focusing on Jesus today.

Speaker 15:10

That's it for today. I hope you found this episode helpful. If you did, please take a second to subscribe to our show so you'll be notified when future episodes come out. Feel free to share it with your friends and loved ones, as well as rating or reviewing it so more people can find out about it.

Speaker 15:28

I would really love to hear from you. Let me know how you are keeping your eyes on Jesus. I so appreciate those of you who have contacted me with your prayer requests. Please know that I pray for you daily. If you need prayer, please reach out to me and let me support you in prayer. Also, as you experience the answers to those prayers that you've shared with me, please share your praise report with me. I want to rejoice with you also.

Speaker 15:56

Until next time, let's be confident in this, that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.