Experiencing the ‘FULLNESS OF JOY’ in God’s PRESENCE
June 8
Bible Reading: Psalms Chapters 10-17
Experiencing the ‘FULLNESS OF JOY’ in God’s PRESENCE
"You will show me the path of
life; in Your presence is fullness of
joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalms 16:11)
King David’s
prayer reveals his trust and reliance upon God. There are four components in
this verse: a guide (God), a traveler (me), a way (path) and an end (life). The
guide is but one, the traveler, one; the way one; and the life, the only one.
If God is to be our guide, there are three
things that we should do, which are recorded in this Psalm:
- Put our trust in God alone (Psalms 16:1)
- Bless the Lord at all times (Psalms 16:7; 34:1)
- Set the Lord always before us (Psalms 16:8)
This psalm
is about a person who obeys God by putting total confidence in God alone
(Psalms 16:1). There is nothing good in our lives except what God has given us
(v. 2; James 1:17). When we speak about the virtue of goodness, there are two
aspects: being good and doing good. Goodness is the fruit of
walking with God, and the goodness of God is associated with His patience.
Further, we should prefer the company of the saints of God (v. 3) and avoid
people who do not serve Christ (v. 4). God will then bless us and lead us
through the right way (v. 7). He will not leave us in the place of the dead,
but will resurrect us into the land of the living (v. 10) – into the very
presence of God (v. 11). We will then enjoy the blessings of God in this life
and beyond all that we can have confidence in a life to come, one filled with
joy and eternal pleasures. Our Lord Jesus Christ being raised from the dead has
already ascended into glory, to dwell in constant nearness to God, where joy is
at its full for ever – that is the place where we will go one day in the
future.
In the meantime, let us experience the fullness of joy in God’s presence. When we live close to God, we will truly experience joy in our lives and this will spill over to others as joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). "But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You." (Psalms 5:11)
