"The fullness of Joy"

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11 ESV

The path of life, fulness of joy and eternal pleasure are only found in God. If we look elsewhere for those things we are misguided and lost. At best whatever we find will be temporary and fleeting. Only in God can we find these to their fullest.

The Psalmist understood where all the best was found. He looked to God for the path that would lead him in the right direction. He wanted to be where God was to experience the fullest joy. He wanted to experience everlasting pleasure.

This verse gives us a threefold picture of all that is best for us. Life with God affords all of this, but life outside of a relationship with God leaves us floundering and searching for that which we cannot grasp.

When we look back at our lives outside of a relationship with God we will see how fruitless our attempts to walk a right path really were. We will see that joy came and went. We will see that our pleasures were self-serving and illusive.

So today if we are in Christ and enjoying all of the things the Psalmist praised God for, let’s stay there and bask in the beauty and wonder of God’s presence in our lives. Let’s not seek other paths, temporary joys and pleasures. Let’s seek his will for us and follow his leading and have everything to the fullest.

© 2013 Leo J. Woodman