It is good for me to be near God.
When I am not—when I move away from his presence—my eyes, like the Psalmist, are easily fixed on lesser pursuits. Lesser things. Littered and lower things. Things of the world. Things that will never lead me into the folds of heaven, but rather things that will keep me temporarily tethered to earth. When I go there … look there … live there, my heart and my mouth are prone to fruitless wanderings that often lead me to believe,
“Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; … ” (Psalm 73:13).
Very loosely translated (and I would encourage you to read Psalm 73 for yourself):
There are those who are seemingly more fruitful than me, richer than me, happier and healthier than me and who, by all outward appearances, don’t seem to possess any tangible relationship with Jesus Christ. I have a relationship with Jesus Christ, yet I have little to show for it. How can this be? When does my commitment to my faith start being fair? When will the scales tip in favor of faith? Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure.
Indeed, when I go there, my heart is prone to fruitless wanderings. But, when I go to God, when I enter into holy truth, I gain a higher perspective.
“When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.” (Psalm 73:16-17)
Final destinies. This is when the scales begin to tip in favor of faith. When I begin to measure my earthly commitment to God in terms of the eternal gains that will come to me because of that commitment, then I, like the Psalmist, re-establish my faith’s foothold. The backdrop of an eternity spent in God’s presence is the best benchmark for measuring daily gains, because at the end of the day … at the end of my life … what I have with Jesus will always be more than what they have without him. No amount of health, wealth, pleasure, and prosperity will be enough to surpass the inescapable, certain reality of God in my forever.
None.
“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.” (Psalm 73:23-24).
I have the steady hand of God in mine. He holds me; guides me; strengthens me; hides me. To have the hand of God—to hold the Holy and to be held as holy—is to live a kingdom inheritance on this side of eternity. The treasure stored beneath the visible is the treasure that will lead me into the folds of heaven. What glory! What gain!
Surely, in faith and with hope, I have kept myself pure. Surely, it is good for me to be near God this day. Surely, it is good for you to reside there as well.
Hold onto the Holy, ye pilgrims of faith, and give thanks for the hands that hold you in return. As always…
Peace for the journey,
~elaine
Amen!! As always, you share from your heart and in doing so, touch mine.
Oh, Elaine. My heart's prayer. Thank you for spurring me on in the good fight of faith-filled living.
Powerful reminder, Elaine. Yes, sometimes it does feel like that holding onto faith to be in vain, but at the end, it is so worth it.
Elaine-
What timing – I have found myself doing some fruitless wandering at times and this is a great reminder that it is only through Christ first that things are as they should be – not necessarily as I WANT them to be 🙂
Elaine, it is good for me to be near God, too. Even in my todays, just having His presence and peace and joy is better than having the prosperity that the world holds dear. And eternity? Wow – unfathomable treasure and gain indeed. Rich blessings to you this holiday weekend, my friend!
That faithful hand has steadied me along many a precipice! It has defended me & paddled me. It has fed me & wiped my nose. How on earth could we journey without it; without Him?
Such a beautiful post, Elaine.
Your beautiful faithful heart always makes my heart smile, and inspires me. I love you.
It is good to keep close to God, for the road is full of pitfalls, and the enemy is waiting to devour. I ask Him to draw me close to Him… my heart is prone to wander!
But yes you are right, he holds you and me by the right hand… and will not let go but will take us into glory!
Thank you for this post, Elaine. What an assurance it is to know that Jesus personally holds our hand, keeping us close to Him.
Love
Lidia
Amen! What more can I say?
It is in his presence I find the confidences in my daily life, apart from being close I am just one lost puppy. Thanks for such deep inspiring words this morning.
"Lesser things. Littered and lower things." Living in this world certainly feels this way, but grateful to join Hands with the One who holds me as holy. Have a blessed Thanksgiving, Elaine. As always, beautiful words!
"The backdrop of an eternity spent in God’s presence is the best benchmark for measuring daily gains, because at the end of the day … at the end of my life … what I have with Jesus will always be more than what they have without him". AMEN!!
So love that song too….made my heart just melt in worship for our amazing God!!
Living in His Embrace~Pamela
Such a great word and great reminder Elaine. I loved what you wrote…
"To have the hand of God—to hold the Holy and to be held as holy—is to live a kingdom inheritance on this side of eternity" Amen!
Such an inspiring post as always…I love what you have written here..
I cannot fully hold onto or grasp that kind of wealth in my “here and now.” But what I can hold onto and grasp is the hand of Jesus that will lead me to my “there and then.”
Sooo true!
Yes, SURELY it is good to be near God this day!
Blessings to you!
aww its sad i never get to enjoy my dad’s company since he paessd away when i was 10 he is a good swimmer and now i cant even swim im a daddy’s girl so super nmiss ko xa pero im closer now to my mom haysss so much for regrets at least you’ve realised and he will be happy to know
Needed this today. Thank you, friend.
Yes, yes, yes. All too often, I am blinded by the standards of this world, and diminished by measuring myself against them. What a waste of time. In the end, eternally, it is only what I do for the Lord that will count. And praise to His Name – it WILL count indeed!!
God promises a lot of things to us – not the least of which is a reward. I would trade all the things of this world just to hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
So, with eternity firmly fixed in my focus, I will walk near to God in this life. What an awesome privilege that is!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
GOD BLESS!
Beautifully stated!
I love the picture you used as an illustration. What a beautiful picture of God holding our hand and watching over our steps on this journey thru life!
Thanks for posting!
This part of a verse…"it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God;" gave special comfort to my soul today Elaine.
I pray you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by the love of each other and of God.
Love you,
Marilyn…in Mississippi
Have a blessed Thanksgiving with your family Elaine, your blog and thoughts are so beautiful! You are an inspiration 🙂 Lori
oh, this is so good! 'I have the steady hand of God in mine. He holds me; guides me; strengthens me; hides me. To have the hand of God—to hold the Holy and to be held as holy—is to live a kingdom inheritance on this side of eternity.' Amen!
thinking of you today. Happy Thanksgiving. Love you!
Holding on – and thankful that He's holding me!
wifeforthejourney:
"What I have with Jesus is more…." A excellent conclusion to the struggles of the frustrated Christian's many questions. Its like what we have talked about and talked out in recent days. We long to see the fruits of our labors, and yet they (often) seem few and far between.
Yet the Lord does indeed find ways to encourage me, even when what we get out of life seems to be less than what we are putting in. Having you in my life makes such a difference; you are all the good things a wife is supposed to be!
Belated-blog-Thanksgivings,
~ Billy