Maybe you’ve been there: In a worship service with praise erupting all around you, but you’re just not into it. You don’t want to ruin everyone else’s fun, and you might even try to sing along, but the notes are hollow.

“Surely God is good to Israel, but as for me . . .” From the opening line, Psalm 73 presents this duality. God is good all the time, we agree—but deep down we’re not so sure. In a strikingly honest confession, this songwriter traces a journey through doubt, repressed anger, and a change of perspective. It’s a path most of us know very well.

What was his problem? “I envied the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked,” he says, launching into a vivid description of their pride, malice, and luxury. “They have no struggles,” he complains. “Free of care, they go on amassing wealth.” By contrast, his own life was full of struggles. It made him wonder why he tried so hard to be good when breaking bad was so rewarding.

Perhaps you’ve had the same questions rampaging through your head and heart, sabotaging your worship. You’ve done your best to live right, but you look around and see people finding business success with unethical practices. Hollywood stars seem ignorant of common decency. Politicians rise to power through graft and deceit. The Psalmist moaned, “When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply.” Maybe you know that feeling.

But then something happened. When the Psalmist “entered the sanctuary of God,” his perspective changed. “I understood their final destiny.” All those wicked rich people were actually on “slippery ground.” At any moment they might be “swept away.” Their wealth is temporary, “like a dream.”

The writer realizes that he has something far more valuable than worldly wealth—an intimate relationship with the Lord. “I am always with you,” he prays, “you hold me by my right hand . . . earth has nothing I desire besides you.” In the last verse of this roller-coaster Psalm he concludes, “It is good to be near God.”

What happened here? Did the Psalmist win the lottery? Was he miraculously healed? No, his circumstances did not change; he just saw things in a new light. The wicked were still raking in the dough, but the Psalmist now understood that their currency was ultimately worthless. It still is. People can live it up, thinking only of themselves, enjoying momentary pleasures and throwing around their wealth like so much Monopoly money. True fortune is found in our interaction with the eternal Lord, who stoops to help us through our struggles.