Draw Near to God: Overcoming Comparison and Distraction

Psalm 73 opens with Asaph saying the true thing first: “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.” Asaph does not lose his doctrine, but his feet almost slip because life looks out of balance. The wicked seem “always at ease,” full of riches, free from pain, proud enough to wear pride like a necklace, and bold enough to set their mouths against heaven. Asaph looks at all that and feels the foul should have been called.

Comparison becomes the squirrel in Asaph’s faith journey. Comparison pulls his eyes off God’s goodness and onto somebody else’s highlight reel. The enemy does not have to destroy faith directly if he can just divert attention long enough. Asaph’s trouble is not that God has changed, but that his attention has shifted.

Psalm 73 turns on one word: “until.” Until Asaph goes into the sanctuary of God, the whole thing feels weary and unfair. God’s presence gives him perspective. The wicked are not standing on solid ground after all. They are in “slippery places,” headed toward ruin, while Asaph is held by the right hand of God.

Proximity becomes the heart of the matter. The closer a person is to God, the less likely that person is to be distracted by something else. Prayer, Scripture, worship, and fellowship are not religious extras. They keep the gap from getting wide. When the gap gets wide, distractions get louder.

God’s nearness brings support, guidance, and good things. The Holy Spirit is not a helper “by appointment only,” but the one who dwells with God’s people forever. God holds the right hand, guides with counsel, and afterwards receives to glory. That means the present struggle is not the final word.

The little foxes become a warning. Small frustrations, comparisons, and hurts can nibble at the roots until spiritual health is damaged. The answer is not ignoring life or putting a head in the sand. The answer is seeing life from the posture of trust in the goodness, sovereignty, power, and love of Almighty God.

Psalm 73 lands with the gold still in the pan: “But for me, it is good to be near God.” God’s presence washes away the gravel of fear, confusion, and comparison. What remains is what is truly valuable. God himself is the greatest treasure.

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Comparison steals spiritual sight Comparison does not simply notice another person’s life. Comparison quietly rewrites God’s character in the heart, whispering that God is blessing everyone else and forgetting the faithful. Asaph’s envy shows how quickly the soul can become disoriented when attention shifts from God’s presence to perceived blessings. [33:25]
• 2. Nearness keeps distractions small Proximity to God is not accidental. Nearness grows through chosen habits that keep the heart close enough to hear, trust, and be held. The farther the gap becomes, the more room distractions have to look bigger than God’s goodness. [35:14]
• 3. The Spirit supplies steady support The Holy Spirit does not offer temporary relief that leaves the soul worse afterward. The Spirit gives comfort, strength, and power that form spiritual health on the other side of difficulty. False supports promise a quick escape, but God’s support makes the heart stronger and more whole. [50:25]
• 4. God’s counsel outlasts bad news Jairus heard the worst possible report, but Jesus had already agreed to go with him. Bad news did not change Christ’s purpose, power, or promise. The counsel of Jesus, “Do not be afraid, only believe,” becomes the difference between walking away broken and staying close enough to see resurrection. [54:30]
• 5. God himself is the treasure God’s presence acts like water over a gold pan, washing away what has no lasting value. Fear, comparison, and confusion fall away when the heart stays near him. What remains is not merely better circumstances, but the clarity that God himself is the gold.
  
  ## [60:27]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [22:56] - When Life Feels Like a Foul
• [25:34] - Asaph and Psalm 73
• [26:46] - The Prosperity of the Wicked
• [29:23] - Until He Entered God’s Sanctuary
• [31:15] - It Is Good To Be Near God
• [32:09] - Comparison, the Thief of Joy
• [34:30] - Proximity and Spiritual Health
• [38:50] - The Helper Who Dwells Within
• [43:26] - Little Foxes Spoil the Vines
• [47:44] - Six Gifts of Staying Close
• [52:08] - Jairus, Jesus, and Bad News
• [58:09] - Trust, Refocus, and Declare
• [60:27] - God Himself Is the Gold
• [63:18] - Altar Call: Come Closer

Bible Reading

Psalm 73
“Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, ‘How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?’ Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 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.” [26:46] [29:23] [31:15]

John 14:16-17
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” [38:50]

Song of Solomon 2:15
“Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.” [43:26]

Mark 5:22-24, 35-36
“Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, ‘My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.’ And he went with him. While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?’ But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’” [52:08] [54:30]

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” [49:29]

James 1:17
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” [56:38]

Observation questions

1. In Psalm 73, what specific things does Asaph notice about the wicked that make him feel shaken and frustrated?
2. What changes for Asaph at the word “until,” and where does that change happen? [29:23]
3. In Psalm 73:23-24, what does Asaph say God does for him personally?
4. In Song of Solomon 2:15, what are the “little foxes” doing to the vineyard, and what picture does that give of small spiritual problems? [43:26]

Interpretation questions

1. Psalm 73 begins with “Truly God is good,” yet Asaph still nearly slips. What does that show about how a believer can know the right truth and still struggle deeply?
2. Asaph’s attention moved from God’s goodness to other people’s apparent success. How does comparison distort a person’s view of both life and God? [33:25]
3. Jesus tells Jairus, “Do not fear, only believe,” after the worst news has already arrived. What does that reveal about the difference between human conclusions and Christ’s counsel? [54:30]
4. John 14 says the Holy Spirit dwells with believers forever. How does that help explain why nearness to God is not only an idea, but a daily source of help, strength, and stability? [38:50]

Application questions

1. When life has felt unfair lately, where has the heart gone first—to frustration, to comparison, or into the presence of God? What has that revealed? [22:56]
2. Comparison often starts small and feels harmless. Whose “highlight reel” has been hardest not to watch lately, and what has that done to joy, gratitude, or trust in God? [34:30]
3. Nearness to God grows through prayer, Scripture, worship, and fellowship. Which of those has been strongest in this season, and which one has quietly weakened enough to create more distraction? [36:30]
4. Small things can nibble at the roots before a person even notices. What “little foxes” have been getting repeated access lately—resentment, disappointment, social comparison, bad news, overthinking, or something else? [44:50]
5. God holds the right hand, guides with counsel, and receives his people to glory. In a current challenge, where is there a need not just for relief, but for God’s support and guidance? [46:58]
6. False supports can promise quick relief but leave the soul weaker. When pressure rises, what kinds of supports are most tempting to reach for instead of leaning into the Holy Spirit? [50:25]
7. “But for me, it is good to be near God.” What would drawing nearer to God look like in a concrete way this week—not in general, but in an actual choice, habit, or conversation? [01:03:43]