Psalm 73 is the personal testimony of a man who came through a great crisis in his life. He tells us how he nearly lost his faith, but God helped him, and he found his way through the crisis and into a stronger faith than he had before.

If you look at the heading of Psalm 73, you will see that it was written by a man called Asaph. Asaph was one of the men that King David put in charge of music in the house of the Lord (1 Chr. 6:39; see also 6:31). He was in the procession when David brought the ark to Jerusalem.

After that, the Bible says that David “appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the LORD, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel. Asaph was the chief” (1 Chr. 16:4, 5).

Asaph was in full-time ministry. He was a mature believer. He was a godly man, and God had put him in a position of great responsibility. But he came to a point in his life where he almost lost his faith. It is helpful to know that even mature believers sometimes experience times of great crisis when it seems as if everything is falling apart.

Over the centuries, God has used this psalm to bring comfort to His people in the midst of their doubts and pain. Introducing Asaph is like introducing an old friend.

Can you recall a time when you almost lost your faith? What gave you stability?