You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
Psalms 16:11 AMP
Now you’ve got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since you took my hand, I’m on the right way.
Psalm 16:11 MSG
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalms 16:11 NIV
He guides us. He leads us, (if we will follow), on the path of LIFE. Life that is fulfilling, healing, and the most desirable. Giving the essence of life we seek deep within our souls.
Life that is more. More than just the fact that our hearts are beating. More than just consciously being aware that we are alive another day on this earth.
He leads us on, and makes known to us, the path of life. The path of life that our minds should remain on. The path that our emotions should remain on. He makes known to us the path that we should keep our finances on. Our choices, our actions, and all that we do in our lives.
We know this path is the path of life because when we are on it we can sense it. We can see it and feel it. Inside we know, beyond our logic and understanding, that, "this is life." There's a sudden awareness and agreement deep within us that says, "Oh. Wow. This is LIFE. This is what life should be. This is what life really is."
Even when we experience sadness, a trial, an unknown or unexpected scenario, God leads us in it, and through it. He leads us in how to react to it. How to look at it. What perspective to choose. He leads us to walk in, and choose, peace, forgiveness, love. He leads us on the path that gives us, and those around us, LIFE.
Follow His leading of how to think, act, react, and respond. As we follow His leading, we sense that deep knowing of, "Wow. This is life. I have peace beyond what I probably should have. I have joy, even with what's going on around me. This is LIFE."
In His presence is joy. Not just a little joy. But the fullness of joy. The fullest. The most joy that you can contain. That means joy that isn't “just ok”. It's not a half glass of joy. It's the full glass.
If you want the full glass. You can have it. You can have ALL THE JOY. It's in His presence. Get in His presence. Choose to get in, and keep going back into, His presence. As you learn how, choose to remain and abide, in His presence.
When scenarios are screaming at you, waving their arms at you. As they tempt you to walk a distance away from Jesus, convincing you that you need to pay attention to them. As things convince you, in your logic, to give them your time, your attention, and your worry. As things in life urge you to come fix them, to dwell on them, choose to wait. Be in, and remain in, God’s presence.
Remain in His presence. His presence is wherever He is at. During any specific scenario don't go try to see, dwell on, fix, or do anything to that situation or scenario. Not until He goes with you. It's in God’s presence that there is fullness of joy.
Jesus didn't go to Lazarus when the situation, the emergency, yelled for him to. He went when the father went. He remained in God's presence. When Jesus knew God’s presence was going to go with Him, then He went. When God’s presence said it was time to go see about Lazarus, then Jesus went to see Lazarus.
When the presence of God is with you, in any scenario, you can have joy. Don’t let the scenario blind you to His presence. God is with you. There is Joy. Don’t allow fear, doubt, or anything to make you believe God is not near. God is with you. Choose to be with Him. With Him, there is a constant fullness of joy.
If you went toward something too soon. If you gave your attention and worry to something. If you tried to go in your own strength to view, analyze, or fix something. If you find yourself without His joy. Then recognize it. Confess that too Him. He understands.
He will draw near to you. Right where you are. He draws near to the humble. Humbly recognize that you moved too soon. Maybe you were persuaded to focus on something, or move into something. Tempted by your own logic. Let His presence draw near to you. Reunite with His presence. Allow God to give you fullness of joy.
In His right hand, there are pleasures. Pleasures "forevermore". Unending pleasures. More pleasures than any amount that you can even imagine. Pleasures that are unique, fulfilling, and original. Pleasures beyond what you could even think to ask, or imagine.
There are pleasures in His right hand. If we remain close by Him, living at His side, there are pleasures in His right hand that He can, and will, easily, graciously, generously, give to us. When you remain near Him, at His right hand, he can hand you pleasures. Stay by His side. Stay close to His hand. If you find yourself having wandered a little ways away, simply return. He loves you.
Maybe you suddenly realized the last allowance of pleasures your Father handed you have run out. Your allowance, your pleasures, have run out. You look for God only to notice that His right hand isn't near you like it used to be.
Simply call out to your Father. He will hear you. He will see you. Even from far off, from down the road, He will see you. And he will come, RUNNING. Your father will run down the road to meet you. He will embrace you and put a ring on your finger. Clothe you with nice clothing. He will not shame you, nor harm you.
Stay at His right hand. Return to His right hand. Live at His right hand. There are pleasures, treasures, fulfillment, and amazing gifts, that never run out.
The following was copied from a study written by Mark Batterson.
[There are half a dozen “double promises / blessings” in Scripture. The prophet Isaiah promised a double portion of joy or prosperity, depending on your translation of choice (Isaiah 61:7). The apostle Paul conferred double honor on those who lead well (1 Timothy 5:17). And a double portion of Elijah’s spirit netted twice as many miracles in the ministry of Elisha (2 Kings 2:9). But perhaps the most unique binary blessing in the Bible is declared by the prophet Zechariah: “Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double” (Zechariah 9:12, ESV).
Zechariah declared this double blessing to Jewish prisoners of war, but he called them prisoners of hope. So which is it—prisoners of war or prisoners of hope? That depends on your perspective, doesn’t it? If you let your circumstances define the way you see God, you are a prisoner of perspective. Or worse, a prisoner of your past mistakes! But if you let God define the way you see your circumstances, you are a prisoner of hope.
Israel had experienced a bitter defeat at the hands of Babylonians. They were at the mercy of their captors, who had defiled their temple and mocked their God. But God reminded them of who would have the last laugh. For their pain, He prescribed the promise of double blessing.
You cannot claim the promises of God like a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but every promise has your name on it. Every blessing in the Bible is part and parcel of our spiritual birthright by virtue of what Christ accomplished on the cross. Positioning ourselves for those blessings begins by kneeling at the foot of the cross and ends with us casting our crowns before the throne of God. In between, we flip every blessing we receive. Flipping the blessing, (blessing others in return) enables you to live with holy anticipation, waiting to see what God does next.
Of course, if you cultivate a double-blessing mindset that is focused on flipping every blessing, you better buckle your seatbelt. Why? Because God is going to open the windows of heaven and pour out more blessing than you can contain. I’m not talking about material blessings. (Although that does come). Giving produces joy, and more joy is just what the world needs!]
Let God lead you on His path. Don't seek blessings or solutions. Seek Him. Seek to be near Him. Be in His presence. Learn what it's like to live in His presence. And there you find "Life".
Life that has all the blessings and solutions. Remain in, go back into, His presence. There are full cups, full packages, of joy. No matter what the circumstance. He is for you.
Stay at His right hand. Go back to his side. Recognize when you walked and wandered a little too far away, then let Him draw near to you, wherever you are. Walk with Him back to where He was walking. As you walk with Him again, he hands you more unexpected pleasures from His right hand.
Your Father loves you, immensely, deeply. He loves you FOREVER.
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