WRITTEN BY TIM LABRECHE
8 Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely. 10 For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay. 11 You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures. (Psalm 16:8-11, CSB, emphasis mine)
Have you ever gone to the circus? There are many fun things to see there. Whether it’s the lion tamer, the tightrope walker, or even the clowns, there’s always something to fill your eyes with something unique. While we’re on the subject of clowns, let it be known that I’ve never been a big fan, but have you ever seen what seems to be an unending line of clowns come out of a car? Clown, after clown, after clown… That’s a little bit of how Psalm 16:8-11 is. There is promise after promise after promise in these four verses. We’re going to look at them briefly this month.
I love how this piece of scripture starts with the declaration, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord.” Why does this verse begin with these words? As we continue to read further in these verses, we see the result of keeping our eyes focused on the Lord. Verse 9 starts with the word, “Therefore’ by that, we know that the following promises result from what was said previously, that our eyes are consistently on Him. There are some pretty amazing things that are after the therefore.
Right off the bat, I see two sweet promises bundled together. Verse 9 says, ‘my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices.’ As David, the author of this Psalm, describes the result of his commitment to following his Lord as his whole being rejoices. Now I imagine that for those who don’t have an intimate walk with Christ, it would be easy to see what a life where we set the LORD before our selfish desires would be a list of “can’t do this and can’t do that.” I’m sure David could, with a mature mind, understand both the costs and benefits of life, sold-out to God, but yet his heart was so glad, and his whole being rejoiced so much he just had to write a song about it! How can you stay in a place of perfect peace? A place where you have lasting joy, no matter your situation? The answer is simply by putting your focus on Him always.
The rest of these verses are a sweet reminder to me right now. David writes that our bodies will rest securely because our Savior will not abandon us to Sheol. I read that a good way to describe Sheol is the enemy’s bunker in reference to the afterlife. When my dad breathed his last breath in August, his days on this earth were over. There would be no more jokes, no more pictures of him with my son or daughter. No more holidays spent together with those he loved. Those days are gone. David, the author of Psalms, writes many beautiful promises in these last two verses. He says he will not abandon us to dwell in the enemy’s house. He will not allow us to see one day, one hour, even one second in the devil’s house. Instead, he rescues us from decay and ushers us into his presence filled with His abundant joy and eternal pleasures. That is so reassuring that my dad has not been abandoned by his Savior. I know that because my father knew Jesus, loved Him and kept his eyes focused on Him, he is enjoying eternal pleasures in the company of multitudes of other faithful believers of Jesus Christ that have gone before him. By keeping our eyes on the Lord, we can know the path of life, we are filled with joy and His eternal pleasures!
Dear Reader,
What about you? Are your eyes set on our Savior? Do you have a relationship with our God that not only supplies you with overflowing and unexplainable joy but promises that he will reveal a path of life that leads to eternity with Him? Your acts of unprovoked generosity do not unlock heaven’s gate. Your extravagant financial donations to worthwhile charities will not give you access to eternity with our Savior. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The ONLY way to spend eternity with God in heaven, avoiding the hopeless pit of hell forever, is to trust and believe that Jesus Christ died on that cross 2000 years ago for you. Oh, there is so much more I could write here, but if you have questions about what this could mean, I would rather talk face-to-face with you. Please call the ministry at (712) 546-7544 and ask for me. If you’re a woman and would rather connect with another female, we have women on staff that have the same desire. We would love to introduce you to the one who holds your eternity in his hands.
Tim!
