September 6 – A Joyful Life (Psalm 16)

“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”(Psalm 16:11)

IN WORD:
It is no coincidence that this psalm of trust is also a messianic prophecy. Peter quoted its last four verses in the Spirit-filled church’s first sermon (see Acts 2:25-28). All of David’s need for refuge, all of his need for providence, all of his need for counsel are summed up in Jesus. The Holy One’s life, undecayed and eternal, are where we fix our hope. The people who have saturated their lives in God and let their hearts be crafted by His wisdom will see it. Jesus is the wisdom of God. He is the provision of our sovereign Lord. He is our refuge from this world of sin and death. All God-given roads lead to Him.
David, writing prophetically, says he has set the Lord always before him (vs. 8), just as Jesus single-mindedly followed the will of God. That, according to all of Scripture, is the way of life. That is our path: a single-minded pursuit of the character and will of God, a wholehearted devotion to the pleasure of His company and the beauty of His glory. There is no real, lasting joy in this world other than the joy of His presence. The eternal pleasures are all found at His right hand.
Have you found it? Too many Christians have not. There are joyless souls filling our churches, souls who have not fully placed the Lord before their eyes. They believe He is up there, but they have not found Him relevant because they have not sought Him intimately. What is missing from that picture? Joy.

IN DEED:
The promise of this messianic psalm is joy, eternal pleasures, safety and rest, a delightful inheritance — in short, everything the human heart craves. No wonder Peter quoted it. The wind and flame that blew and burned on Pentecost filled him with the knowledge of the Holy One. Everything the human heart craves can be found in the risen Jesus.
Do you know that joy? If not, here’s how to get it: Ask. Tell God you want no more of stale belief, but only His heart, His Spirit, His love. Ask Him to stir His passion into you. Do not let the gift of His joy be wasted.

“Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.”
-Leon Bloy-