The Beauty of Sin

Psalm 73:25 says, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.” This is such a powerful statement that Asaph wrote years ago that still impacts and touches our hearts. It makes our mouths water and say in desperation, “I want to be there.” How freeing it would be to live in a world where the only thing you desire is to be with God and to worship at His feet. To live out the soul purpose of our existence is the only thing that can bring us ultimate joy and satisfaction, but the question remains: how do we get there?

Psalm 73 isn’t a song about the goodness and glory of being in the presence of God from the very beginning. I remember being told about this amazing psalm by a friend and looking at the first several verses and saying, “I must be in the wrong chapter.” Asaph begins to write that all his righteous living is in vain. He sees the wicked, and those who give way to their own desires, succeed and prosper and then looks to the heavens to cry out in agony. In verse twelve he says, “Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.”

In the very next verse he says that he has kept his heart pure for no reason but just out of abstinence. What a crushing statement to the Christian life! How awful it would be to live your life pure and away from evil only to discover at the end of your days that it all was just to keep you from prospering or having riches?

Verse seventeen turns everything around. He says, “Until I came into the sanctuary of God, then I perceived their end.” This post isn’t about the glory of knowing you’re right and everyone else is going to hell, but the impact and the change of mind when someone enters the presence of God. I’ve probably used this example from Paul Washer several times already, but being in the presence of God or experiencing God is just like getting hit by an 18-wheeler. There is no possible way to walk out of the situation unchanged. But people do! I’ve been to church camps where the presence of God seems to be so thick that people are crying and confessing sins to friends, but as soon as they leave they begin to talk about normal and worldly things as if they never had gone into the worship service in the first place.

What’s wrong with this? Should we be concerned that the presence of God is showing up every week and with us daily but we aren’t being changed? I believe in sanctification and want to let you know that I’m in no way saying that you need to change now or you’re not experiencing the fullness of His presence. I believe God is more sovereign than my mind and all of my thinking and His timing is perfect and just. It’s really easy for me to look and people and judge them, but every time, God is showing me a piece of my heart that I’m not giving to Him.

If I’ve experience the presence of God and worshiped Him in spirit and truth, why do I still lust? Why is my way of thinking still deformed? Am I doing something wrong? On the contrary, I should rejoice in the way that my sins bring me to the presence of God to worship. I shouldn’t find joy in my sins in themselves, but in the way that they bring me to my knees in desperation crying out to God, “Lord, I give my life to You. Use me for Your kingdom.” That’s the beauty of sin.

I’m still trying to “figure out” the presence of God. Hopefully I’ll never find the complete answer until I ascend with the fellow believers, but man, I am intrigued. If you’re also curious about this pursuit of knowledge, I’d love for you to check out Pure Praise by Dwayne Moore. Amazing author and book. I’ve finished the first week and I’ve learned more than any devotional book I’ve ever picked up. Praying for you guys and would love to know ways I could specifically pray for you by you sending me an e-mail or commenting on this post.

Pray for me as I explore the beauty of what God is revealing to us. – Forsake All