“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures forevermore” (KJV, Ps. 16:11).
“Thou wilt shew me”
Father, You have been good to me, and Your mercy knows no bounds. You have revealed Your Son to me, and for that, I am thankful. However, I do not deserve to know You. I do not deserve Your love towards me. You are a great King, and I have been a rebel. You are a wonderful Master, and I have been a disobedient servant. Nonetheless, You have been patient with me and have not given up on me. You have continued to seek me, and I pray that You will forgive me for my sin.
Please open my eyes so that I can see the errors of my ways. Show me what I must do to grow in my relationship with You so I might glorify You in this life. You are deserving of much more than what I give You. You have been more generous than I. I am indebted to You for Your generosity.
Show me Jesus, Father. Show me Your Son that I might learn to love Him more. He is worthy of my devotion. He is worthy of my attention. Please, would You cause me to be interested in Christ more? Bring healing to that which is dead within me. Restore my soul this day that I might worship Jesus as I ought to.
“the path”
I also pray that You show me the path I ought to walk. I have walked down paths before that I should not have walked. I see that there are many who walk down paths throughout their life, not knowing that the path is the way to death. Open my eyes, Father, and help me see the path that You have laid before me.
You have given me Your Word, and I can see the path in Your Word. However, there are times when my sight is darkened because of my sin. Would You cleanse me this day from my sin and help me to see? I must see Jesus and the path that He walked.
Jesus told His disciples that if anyone would follow Him, they must pick up their cross daily. This means that the path that I must walk is a path paved with death. It is a path paved with the blood of Jesus, but it is a path on which I must also learn to die.
I cannot follow Christ and walk along His path if I do not bear my cross. Wherever the Master is, there will the servant be as well. I am a grain of seed that must fall into the earth and die; if I do not die, I will remain alone and without Christ.
“of life”
The path of death is also the path of life. You have shown me how to walk and have told me that You will lead me along the path of life. What a striking paradox that is found within Your Word. If I seek to gain my life, I will lose it, but when I learn to lose my life, I will gain it. The Christian truly lives a paradoxical lifestyle.
I am both in the world and not of the world. I have gained life in my death. I am holy before You while, at the same time, I am a sinner. Nevertheless, You will keep me walking on the path of life as I carry my cross with Jesus.
“in thy presence”
Father, would You bless me with Your presence this day? I long to be near You and know You more. When you are distant, I can grow weak and tired. But when You choose to draw near to me, I am refreshed and strengthened for my day. Teach me not to depend upon refreshing moments as though I can only live for You when You make Yourself known to me. You gave me everything that I need for life and godliness. However, I pray for Your presence in my life as Your presence is not a means to an end; it is the hope of heaven.
One day I will be with You, and I will be in Your manifest presence throughout all eternity. Thank You that I can get glimpses of heaven on earth when You who Yourself to me.
“is fullness”
In Your presence, there is a fullness because You are perfect. You are perfectly loving. Therefore in Your presence, I will experience the fullness of love. This is because you are love and in You is a holy love that knows no bounds. Your love has been poured out on Your creation because it was full to overflowing, much like that of a glass filled with water but never ceases to be filled and pours over.
“of joy”
What will it be like to be in Your presence? Your Word tells me that there is fullness of joy in Your presence. What will it be like to experience fullness of joy? To this question, I have no answer. My joy is always imperfect, and it is always interrupted by sin, struggle, trials, affliction, and more. Therefore, I cannot understand what it will be like to experience the fullness of joy.
Nevertheless, I do see why I will experience this fullness. It is because I will be with You. My lack of joy comes by way of being apart from You. Therefore, when I am close to You and my sin has been eradicated, I will be full of joy, and I thank You for that blessed day that awaits me.
“at thy right hand”
When I see Your Word speaks of Your right hand, I am reminded of Jesus. When Jesus came to the earth, He honored You in all He did. You were pleased with Your beloved Son, and I am pleased that I can know Him and that You sent Him for me.
However, I also see that Christ did not simply come to the earth to be a made a man. He came to die a sinner’s death. When Jesus died on the cross, He died for me. When You punished Your Son, You did so for me. But Jesus did not stay dead. He rose from the grave and defeated death. He ascended into heaven and took a seat at Your right hand.
“are pleasures”
No wonder there are pleasures at Your right hand. It is because Jesus is there. Wherever Jesus is, there will my soul be pleased. Let me never forget about my Savior and all He has done for me. Let me never forget that Jesus sits at Your right hand and that I have a Great High Priest Who never ceases to intercede for me.
I pray that You would satisfy me with the person and work of Chris this day. Teach me to look to Jesus as the author of Hebrews tells me. Teach me to behold Christ without a veil over my eyes so that I could be changed into His image from one degree of glory to another.
When I am overwhelmed with Jesus, this life gets a little easier. Honoring and living for You become easier when I can see my Savior. I pray that You will draw me to Jesus this day and help me to grow in my relationship with Him.
“forevermore”
There are days when I can get caught up in the moment and not think about eternity. Sometimes I live for the here and now and do not think about the glory that awaits me. When I fall into this trap, I grow feeble as I take my eyes off You and eternity.
Teach me to look upwards and to go about my life with an eternal mindset. Help me take each step with a conscious awareness that this life is not all there is. You have made a way for me to be with You through Your Son, Jesus Christ. You have shown me the path of life; at Your right hand, there truly are pleasures forevermore. In Jesus’ name, Amen.