It is good for me

Psalm 73:28

But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

There is no passage, chapter, or psalm anywhere in the Bible, I don’t believe, which provides a greater balm for the soul than this one. For you see, my beloved, this psalm is for the one who has looked outwardly to this world, and has seen what looked like prosperity, satisfaction, and temporal happiness. It seemed that those that don’t know God, and are ignorant of His existence, have greater blessings than God’s own people. But then Asaph came to a great and monumental realization. That is, he realized that everything they have is temporal, transient, momentary. What is the use and value of happiness in this world when we don’t have the Lord? No doubt, there is no value whatsoever in it! For you see, when Asaph went into the sanctuary of God, then he understood their end. They were headed for destruction in this life and doom in the next! And although no Christian could rejoice in others perishing, they certainly should never look longingly at anything this world has or offers! For it ends eternally, and the things of this life will be gone for ever. They are despised of the Lord! What a terrible plight! Every Christian should instantly and constantly rejoice that we are not in such a plight!

Asaph then tells us of the blessings that we do have. We may seemed to be plagued all day long, and chastened every morning. We may seem to be assailed in our minds and assaulted from the enemies about us, but we every eternal blessing at our disposal. I am continually with Thee! says the psalmist. Thou has holden me by my right hand! He will receive me to glory! Whom have I in heaven but Thee? There is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee! There is none like the Lord! All these things we have so freely in Him! My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart! And, He is my portion forever! And may I ask today, could anything be better than that? We may not have this or that, or may not be given a certain measure of prosperity, but we have the Lord Himself! Is that not infinitely better than all of the blessings of this world put together into one? Is that not all we need, and the fulfillment of all our desires? Yes, the Lord will destroy those that go a whoring from Him, but that is not mainly our concern. Our concern is to draw near to Him. For that is good for me! It is good for me to draw near to God!

Friend, are you struggling? Are you weary? Are you distracted by this world? Are you discouraged? Have your eyes been taken by the things seen around you? There is one thing for you to do, and it is good for you! Draw near to God! Put your trust in Him! Declare all His works! Do not worry or concern with the things of this world, but rather draw near to the Lord. He will supply everything, He will be your all in all. You will find that when you have Him, you don’t truthfully need anything else, for He is your portion forever! Put your trust in Him! Get busy declaring His works, and soon you will see, nothing else of this world is of value to you! Those things are strangely dim! But the most wonderful thing is to draw near to Him. Draw away from all else, and draw nigh to the Savior. And there can be no doubt that He will fulfill His promise, and draw night to you.

“Dear Lord, how we praise you for giving us the message that our hearts so desperately needed and longed for. It has filled us with new life and joy. It has lifted us to a new plane to be reminded that we have everything in you. You are the portion of our souls. If we will only draw near to you, and cease to consider this world, we will find you all-sufficient for every need, and we will discover you to be the source of all our joy. May this be the discovery of every person who meditates on these words. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”