(Psalm 73:25-28)…..Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. 26 My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry. 28 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.
“Whom have I in heaven but You?” This is a great question from the lips of Asaph, king David’s worship leader. A question he asks after thinking about God’s grace in sustaining him through his time of doubt (73:16-17), “Is God enough?” Is He sufficient? (Psalm 16:2) (Philippians 3:7-11). Listen, if you belong to God, you possess everything (Ephesians 1:3) (1 John 5:11-12). While God’s blessings are innumerable and wonderful, we should not treasure His blessings above Himself. We should treasure God above all things because He is faithful to us in our failures and because He is the only One who can satisfy and sustain us now and for eternity. We should treasure God above all things because He has rescued us from judgment so that we can take refuge in Him and tell of all His works (73:27-28).
It is (v.25) that presents us with difficulty. Who can honestly say……. ”And there is none upon earth that I desire besides you?” That’s a radical claim! Is this true of us?
Is it wrong to desire certain things in our lives? Shouldn’t we have a desire to love the people around us (Luke 14:26)? Loving the fellowship with the saints matters, a healthy marriage matters, knowledge of God and His word matters, friendships matter, and so on it goes. However, Jesus and loving Him is what should matter more than anything else in the believers life. Our relationships, our knowledge of God, our holy living, our serving and our prayer life, etc., should flow from a life that is consumed by our Savior. Whatever it is that we have going on in our lives, Jesus is absolutely better!
Our prayer ought to be like Agustine’s when he prayed…….
“Lord, bring to me a sweetness surpassing all the seductive delights that I once pursued. Enable me to love you with all my strength that I may clasp your hand with all my heart – You, Lord, are my king and my God.”