HAVE YOU LOST SIGHT OF GOD?

Psalm 16:1-2

            Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

            I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;

                        I have no good apart from you.”

What a wonderful, confident prayer. David is asking for the protection and preservation of the LORD. David has found his resting place in care of his Lord. David desires to be submissive and obedient to his personal Lord. His decision is resolute, as he knows that there is no other place where he can find true protection.

We should have the same kind of resolution in our lives. All too often, we look for protection through our own ideas or from the opinions of men. We allow the world to dictate where and how to find rest. We allow the same things that produce unrest and worry to the unbelievers to cause turmoil in our lives.

We know David had learned to find his place in the arms of his Lord. It is the difficult times that send us running to find shelter. It is during the dark times when we look for the light. It is in the lonely times when we look for the eternal love of God. It is when we recognize that we are lost sheep that we look for the Good Shepherd!

Trials drive those who have chosen the Lord as their only Lord into His arms!

David has also learned to choose his friends carefully.

Psalm 16:3-4

            As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

                        in whom is all my delight.

            The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

                        their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

                        or take their names on my lips.

When a soldier is at war, he does not look for protection in the enemy’s camp. The athlete looks for his teammates when he is in competition. David knew that spending time with God’s enemies would expose him to their corruption and problems. Spending time with those who love God was both an encouragement and a joy for David.

The local church is the gift that God has given to believers. There they can find protection, rest, instruction, encouragement and so much more. A believer who lives a comfortable life in the world, away from a local church, needs to reevaluate his priorities and life goals.

David knows that trusting God has been a blessing for him.

Psalm 16:5-6

            The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;

                        you hold my lot.

            The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

                        indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

God’s care has produced pleasant results in the present, and gives him certain hope for the future. This assurance continues to guide his days and produces rest at night.

Psalm 16:7-8

            I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;

                        in the night also my heart instructs me.

            I have set the LORD always before me;

                        because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

David has been instructed from the Word of God. He has wisdom as he deals with his daily situations, and has peace at night. It is at night when we tend to reflect and worry, but nights were not restless for David, because he had chosen where to set his eyes. He knew that the LORD, the creator and sustainer of all, was by his side. How could he fret when he was so well-protected?

Where do our minds go when we stop and reflect? Are we looking at our problems, or to God, Who holds everything in His hand? Do we lose sight of the God Who has promised to be by our side? If God loved us enough to send His Son to die for us, will He not love us enough to give us what is best for us every day of our lives?

Psalm 16:9-10

            Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

                        my flesh also dwells secure.

            For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

                        or let your holy one see corruption.

David is certain of the care of God. He is rejoicing; he is secure. His eternal state is not in question. It would seem that David could not know of the work the Messiah would accomplish to provide this eternal security for His children. Peter preached at Pentecost, using these verses to prove that even David, as he put his trust in God, had shown faith in God’s future provision.

If David could, by faith, have such surety,then how could we have less? We have placed our eternal state in the hands of God. So, how could we not trust Him for our everyday circumstances? If God is powerful enough to secure our life after death, He is surely strong and wise enough to take care of us every day!

Psalm 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.

There is fullness of joy and eternal pleasures in the hands of our Lord and Savior. The focus of our lives here on earth is not to avoid difficulties and problems, for they are used, in the hands of God, to produce spiritual maturity and sanctification in us. They cause us to learn compassion, so as to be a help for other believers, and to be a call for reconciliation of the world with God.

Dear friend, as you journey in a difficult world, with difficult people, with difficult problems don’t lose sight of your LORD! Meditate on what is true and eternal. Live for that which is of eternal value!