IT IS GOOD TO DRAW NEAR TO GOD
“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.” Psalm 73:28
The seventy-third Psalm, like many of the Psalms, records some of the common struggles we all encounter. This is one of the reasons we appreciate the Psalms so much; we can identify with the emotions and difficulties of the writer. In this Psalm, the writer acknowledges that the prosperity of the wicked troubled him, and he even questioned whether his personal devotion was in vain. When the writer finally got into God’s presence about the issue, he understood that he had been foolish to have such an attitude. Finally, he closes the Psalm with our text verse, saying, “It is good for me to draw near to God.” It is so true. “It is good for me to draw near to God.”
Isn’t it a great joy to know that we can draw near to God? The only way that we can approach our Holy God is through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. Thank God that a way has been made for us to draw near. Imagine a sinful man being able to approach the holy presence of God. Only through the blood of Christ is it possible. But, because of our faith in Christ and the fact that the blood has been applied to our lives, we can draw near to Him.
It is another amazing thing that we would want to draw near to God. This too is the result of His work of grace in our lives. Before Jesus came, we had no interest in being near to God. To the contrary, we would distance ourselves from everything that was holy and righteous. But now, all that is changed. Like the newly converted demoniac from Gadara, we want to be near our Lord.
We need to draw near to Him. First, we need to because we owe it to Him to show our love to Him. He has shown His love for us in many ways, but none greater than His death for us at Calvary. He wants us to love Him supremely. Secondly, we need to draw near to God because there is something about the fallen nature of man that is inclined to drift away from God’s perfect place for us. Because we are naturally prone to slackness in our devotion, we must discipline ourselves to habitually draw near to Him.
Our text instructs us on the way to draw near to God. “I have put my trust in the Lord GOD.” We draw near to Him by faith. By faith, knowing He loves us and wants us near, knowing the way has been provided for us, we daily draw near to Him.