Psalm 16:11 -- You will show me the path
of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures
forevermore.
This verse probably
deserves an entire sermon series all to itself. First, consider the idea
of "fullness of joy." God has graciously granted us the
opportunity to experience joy in this life despite this world's profound
brokenness. Thanks to the Fall and man's sinfulness, this world is filled
with heartache and sorrow. It seems like all news is bad news. As
humans, we have the terrible talent of messing things up. When God
created this world, He looked at all of it and said, "It is good."
Now, we are surrounded with "it is bad." But, as bad as
it may seem sometimes, it could be much worse. God has granted us many,
many gifts that bring us joy in the midst of this broken world. We should
be extremely grateful for that.
So we know what joy
feels like, but we have no idea what "fullness of joy" must feel
like. We won't know that until we get to eternity. Everything there
"is very good." Sin is gone. Pain is gone. Death is gone.
Heaven will be empty of all things that steal joy. So eternity will
be wonderful because of what is not there. But it will be even more
wonderful because of what will be there. Loved ones and all the perfected
saints, beauty like our imaginations cannot fathom, activities that will
delight us and never grow boring, blessing upon blessing, never-ending.
Incredible joy! But all of those will still lack the ability to
give us "fullness of joy." There is only one thing that can
bring the creature "fullness of joy," and that is the Creator Himself.
Being in the presence of God will bring "joy unspeakable and full of
glory." We cannot imagine the joy that we will experience because of
all the things that will not be in eternity and all the things
that will be in eternity. And yet, the joy of being in
the presence of God will make all those other things seem dim compared to His
glory---far more unimaginable than even the lesser things that are yet beyond
our imagination. "Fullness of joy." That is the eternal
destiny of every believer in Jesus. But to be separated from God for
eternity....that will be the exact opposite---the absolute absence of joy and
the unimaginable experience of extreme pain and loss. Oh friend, make
sure you are headed for the presence of God!
Notice that
there is a path of life. Man fell into sin and
the path of death, but God has graciously made a path of life. Proverbs
14:12 says," There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the
way of death." So there is a path of life, and there is a path that
leads to death. Man, even when he wants to seek the right path, ends up
on a path of death. It seems right to him! But he's wrong.
Also, we observe
that God must "show me" the path of life. Praise God that He
made a way to life. Praise God that He opens our blind eyes and shows us
the way to life. And what is this "life" the psalmist speaks
of? Where is this joy? It's in the presence of God.
John 17:3 --
"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
