Psalm 73: 25-28 (ESV)
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
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.
Devotional Reflection
For the Psalmist, to be near to God is to have life and to be far from God is to find death. But what does nearness to God consist of? How does the Psalmist understand it? How should we?
Earlier, the Psalmist was confronted with a dilemma: the wicked seem to prosper while the righteous seem to suffer. He could get no clarity for why this should be so "until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end." (17) Nearness to God for the psalmist was physical, external, objective. He goes into the Lord's Temple. The place where God himself promised to be present. Everywhere he looks, he sees reminders that the Lord is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, ready to forgive. The psalmist is reminded that the Lord redeemed his people from bondage in Egypt and brought them out just for this purpose--so that He could manifest himself in their midst, be with them, dwell with them, be their refuge, their rock, their salvation. As a result, the Psalmist declares, "God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever!" The physical, external, and objective bring about an internal change in the Psalmist--his confidence in God's promises is restored and reinvigorated.
Likewise, we should think of nearness to God in this way. Nearness to God does not come from first looking internally--hoping to work up some mental, spiritual, or emotional state whereby we "feel" that closeness. No, nearness to God still comes to us through physical, external, and objective means. That's why the Lord has bound up his promises of his presence in the elements of water, bread, and wine. That's why he's attached his promises to give life, to grant forgiveness of sins, to redeem, renew, and strengthen us to physical things. That's why he delivers those gifts to us in the waters of baptism and in the Lord's Supper. Not for his sake, but for ours. So that we know for certain that he is near. So that when we daily remember that water that soaked us in our baptism and when we regularly eat that bread that is his true body and drink that cup that is his true blood that we too can exclaim, "Amen! God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever!"
Image Description (AI Prompt)
An abstract painting with a silver communion cup and a round loaf of bread, surrounded by a separate representation of running water. The communion cup, gleaming and intricately designed, is placed in the center, with the round loaf of bread beside it, featuring a golden-brown crust. The running water, depicted in abstract flowing lines and shades of blue and white, is distinctly separate from the cup, creating a clear visual distinction. The water forms a border or a background element, emphasizing its separation from the cup. The painting should have the texture and look of a traditional oil painting, with visible brush strokes and a color scheme focusing on silver, gold, and various shades of blue.