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 Your works. (Psalm 73:28)

Draw Near To God

Asaph lived about one thousand years before Christ, serving as a chief musician for King David in tabernacle service. Twelve psalms are attributed to Asaph in the book of Psalms. He was a skilled musician and considered to be a seer or prophet. The second psalm of Asaph is a haunting examination of the struggles of a righteous man with the seemingly easy life of the wicked and how the injustice against the righteous is compared to the good life of the ungodly. Asaph struggles with the inconsistencies of the rewards given to those who do not seek God. He admits his faith almost faltered to stumbling until he came to the sanctuary of God and found his faith renewed.

One of the key elements in Asaph’s search for answers did not come from his own wisdom. He did not seek the wisdom of other men to understand the disparity of justice. Searching for truth came when Asaph drew near to God, and he put his trust in the Divine. This experience came from realizing how powerful worship to the Creator would change his heart and mind to see the reality of life. There are many questions in life that show injustice to those who seek fairness from the issues of life. Good people suffer mightily under the hands of oppression, while those who are ungodly seem to enjoy a prosperous life of ease. The problem rests where the view is centered. Trying to justify the actions of the wicked cannot be done with earthly eyes. One must draw near to God.

The view of human wisdom sees injustice because it seeks to level the plain with a carnal understanding of what is right. God is not interested in what man thinks. When a man tries to justify life through the lens of human wisdom, he will fail. It is not until one draws near to God to understand a divine picture that a man truly knows the outcome of good and evil. Wicked men prosper in life and die with little or no consequence. From an earthly viewpoint, this becomes an appealing temptation to believe joy can be found in this life. Standing with God and seeing the world through divine eyes helps one realize that life does not consist of the abundance of things here but the reality of what eternity holds for every man.

Everything in this life is vanity. A man spends his life gaining power, wisdom, influence, and pleasure and loses all those things in the moment of death. What matters is what is beyond the grave. This understanding cannot come to the heart of man until he draws near to God and places his trust in the word of God. There is no other option or choice. Drawing near to the Lord is where man finds the answers to life and death and beyond. Human wisdom says a man lives and dies, and that is final. Standing in the presence of God shows man is created in the Divine image and that death is only a new beginning – with consequences.

Asaph remembered the joy of being close to God. It put his life back in perspective of matters of eternal consequence. Looking at life in the here and now can only bring heartache and sorrow. Drawing near to God opens the vistas of the eternal nature of man and the promises given by the hand of the Creator for eternal life. The closer one draws to God, the less he will be envious of the wicked. There will come an understanding of what life is really about and the joy of serving a loving, compassionate, and forgiving Father. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.