The Nearness of God is My Good

Behold the Wicked

This verse is quoted from Psalm 73, one of the greatest in all of scripture. Here the psalmist has spent the first half of the Psalm confessing his heart.  He looks around and sees how the wicked seem to prevail all over creation.  Life for them is so good and easy that he says, “Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they have increased in wealth.”  The picture is so vivid, things are so bad, they the wicked don’t even need to lift a finger and they still are multiplying.

An Honest Heart

In his honest confession he says in verse 1 that his “feet came close to stumbling” but when he entered the sanctuary of God, he perceived their end.  As the psalmist drew near to God, his perspective changed on the situation, but it is important to note that his situation did not.  Things were still hard for him, we have no reason to believe that wickedness was curtailed and that the violent men were stopped.  The only thing that we know changed was his perspective.  He could see that the Lord would handle all of this and that the wicked would be punished.

GO!

Right now you might be going through something that is hard, that is difficult, and you may be agreeing in your heart with the Psalmist how it seems the wicked have it so good and easy, you may be as resigned as he was and saying, “surely I have kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence.”  If that is you, if you are facing situations in your life when evil and wickedness seem to triumph, I want to encourage you to do what the psalmists did…GO INTO THE SANCTUARY!

A Shift in Perspective

Then you will have a perspective change, then you will see how the path of sin does not lead to a prosperous path.  Then you will know that you have not kept your heart pure in vain. You will see how God will handle the wicked, and then you will be able to say, “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good.”  Because God is near we are not guaranteed that we will not have troubles.  In fact, Jesus promised just the opposite.  He said, “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.” (Matt. 10:22)

So draw near to God during this hard time.  Confess to him the struggle in your heart.  Cry out to him about the wickedness that is happening around you.  And then, as you draw near to him, perceive the end of the wicked.  Trust that God will make all things right and new.  Trust in him that he will protect you.

Joshua M. Greiner
Josh has been on staff with Faith since 2010. He graduated from Purdue University with a BA in Political Science (2008) and from Faith Bible Seminary with a MDiv (2013), The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with a ThM in Biblical Counseling (2017) and is pursuing a PhD in Counseling from SBTS as well. He serves as the Pastor of Faith West Ministries, the Chaplin of the West Lafayette Fire Department, an instructor with Faith Bible Seminary, and a Fellow with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). He is married to his wife Shana, and they have four children together.