March 28, 2024
Pastor Darin Youngberg
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Daily Bread Sept. 7, 2017
Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2017 by Bro_D
Psalms 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
I remember in 9th grade, my homeroom teacher gave us an assignment – “Plot out your path of life, where do you want to go, how will you get there. Dream big, lay out the best path of life you can imagine.” You can imagine what a bunch of 9th graders came up with! I won’t bore you with the details of how I answered that assignment – just understand this- there was nothing about seeking the path of life the LORD had for me.
This is a psalm of David, historians say it was a poem David had engraved in stone as a reminder. I know I now have this psalm marked in my Bible – I need this reminder – each day, maybe even some days moment by moment! There is so much in this world that can distract me from the “path of life” the Lord has for me. This world offers it’s idea of joy & pleasure – and quite frankly, my body & mind seem to think that kind of joy and pleasure is good stuff! So, I battle – and yet, the LORD who is rich in mercy, continues to make known His path of life – He doesn’t hide it from me – He reveals it to me each and every day – and sometimes moment by moment!
I couldn’t help but be drawn to the second phrase of this verse – in His presence there is fullness of joy. “In His presence”, not as He performs some miracle, or rescues me from some trial – just in His presence. I think of the man who was tormented by tens of thousands of demons, after an encounter with Jesus, he sat at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and in his right mind. He didn’t want to leave Jesus’ side, he deeply desired to be in His presence. He wanted to be at Jesus’ right hand – that’s where He experienced great pleasures!
I find that when I am alone and in the Word of God, that’s where I find myself in His presence – that’s where great joy is found – that’s where the greatest of pleasures are experienced!