Advent Day 15: Good To Be Near

Series: Advent 

by Ronnie Martin December 15, 2020

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

I love telling my friends about my friends. I have people I’ve been close with through the years who do some amazing things, and one of the things I love to do is brag on them and praise them to others about those amazing things. That’s the tendency we have of people we’re close with who have been dear friends to us. We want other people to know. 

Take a moment to reflect on someone you’ve been close to and think about some of the things they’ve done that you admire and maybe even want to emulate. 

This Psalm of Asaph has the Psalmist singing to us from his heart about why it’s so good to be near to God. Of all the people he could choose for protection, he has chosen to make the Lord the One to find his greatest security and belonging in. It’s not for nothing, either. He is near to God so that he might tell of all God’s works. It’s God’s presence that is the place where he finds his refuge, and that compels him to be a spokesman to the glory of that reality. 

In general, we as human beings are drifters. Even the good things and people that God places us around need to be pursued with intentionality or we will drift away from them. We become complacent, we take people for granted, and we pull away much more than we push toward if we’re not careful. God wants us to have hearts that increasingly long for the goodness that comes with being near to God. 

As the new year looms, you can probably think of something on the horizon that feels very daunting, and maybe even incredibly lonely. It might be something that causes you to want to bury your feelings and isolate, because you don’t feel like you’re going to receive any help. Listen to the words of the Psalmist. The nearness of God was a refuge to him that caused his lips to form words of praise around the amazing works God had done. Knowing God was near gave him the assurance to pursue the only refuge that could provide safety, strength and solace when all else was collapsing around him. 

Reflect

Will you pray for and embrace the nearness of God this season? Will you ask God to give you a heart that feels the warm embrace of God’s presence in the inner chambers of your soul? Will you look at the places you’ve made into refuges and recognize how fragile they are to uphold you? Then find a friend or loved one and spend time recalling God’s grace and kindness to you as He remained so near to you.