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. He has found his resting place in the care of his
Lord. Submissive and obedient, David’s 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 own 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 troubles that
produce unrest and worry for unbelievers to cause turmoil in our lives.
However,
we know that 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 spiritual life, 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 during the 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 become a call for observing unbelievers to be
reconciled to God.
Dear
friend, as you journey in a difficult world, with difficult people and difficult problems don’t lose sight of your LORD!
Meditate on what is true and eternal. Live for that which is of eternal value!
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