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It just is.
It really is good to be near God.
It is really good to be near God.
“But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.”
Psalm 73:28
Let’s make space to consider for a few moments:
I remember one of my first prayer journal entries well. It was legible but still had the marks of a beginning writer—an imprecise, wobbly pencil. It spoke of the pain of a hard home that I find myself still grateful for: “Lord, I need Your help. I’m in trouble again, and I don’t know why. I never know why.” Oh, how God my Refuge met that little boy there times without number! And yes, in the heart ache, His mending Presence met me again and again with goodness.
It’s like I can see a thousand snapshots of my life where He met me with goodness! His perfect understanding of me and song over me through hearing and speech impediments. His hand over many, many procedures and treatments. His friendship amidst bullies on the playground. His affirmation when ministry leaders said “you’re no good” or “you’re unfit.” His life when my heart stopped in my mid 20s. His security when there was a potential birth defect in my youngest son or when jobs transitioned and the ends needed to meet in unknown, new ways. His faithful cleansing when I stumble in the muck and mire of sin yet again. His steadfast love in and through many moments of life that seem like they are whirling around chaotically—either circumstantially or inside my cranium or both.
God was there. I could run and hide in Him. He told the truth about His goodness and being a Refuge for the weak and wounded ones like me. And, I could put those last three sentences in the present and future tense, and they would still check out.
Can you see that in your story, too? When’s the last time you helped someone else see that through your story? Oh! How important it is to remember and share “my Refuge” stories!
Of course! I could tell you about how His nearness was good on vacation days in a beautiful location, in those thousands of hours spent worshiping over God’s Word in prayer, in time of participating in or leading corporate worship through music, singing, preaching, and teaching, in that sacred space of listening and responding in pastoral counseling. And, God used those things in the midst of the various seasons of life I’ve walked through so far.
But, in the context of Psalm 73, the Psalmist is looking around at how the wicked seem to prosper way too much in the world, and here he is struggling while seeking to live by faith. The Psalmist lets all that frustration fly in prayer and song until the troubled waters are quieted by God meeting him there in goodness as He worships through the struggle in the last verse.
It stands to reason, doesn’t it? Someone could lack that sense of goodness whether they are at the bottom of a dusty crater in the desert or they are reclined on a yacht deck off of a private island. And yet, God is near and full of true goodness available in both circumstances and everything in between.
How do we experience the nearness and goodness of God, His Refuge? Worship. He’s always Present and available. Turn to Him in the simplicity of a prayer or song, a verse rehearsed, a list of gratitude—worship Him through it. He’ll be there with good gifts to hand you—good gifts to receive by faith and to aid you along the way of walking by faith. And, as He does, let’s remember to share those stories, which turns out to be yet another way to experience His nearness and goodness in valuable ways.
