Psalm 16

"You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing."  Psalm 16:2b

There is  nothing this world has to offer that can begin to compare to the joy of knowing the Lord Jesus as our Savior and Lord.  The Lord is our place of safety and refuge.  The Lord is our security. The Lord is our joy and peace.  The Lord is our all.  The Lord is our one and only good thing.  There is nothing meaningful outside of the Lord.

In Psalm 16:2 David said to the Lord God, "You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing." In Psalm 73:25 the psalmist, Asaph, said to God "Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides You."  Paul expressed a similar sentiment in Philippians 3:8a, "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him." There is absolutely nothing in this world that can compare to the joy of our relationship with the Lord.

Those who seek joy, peace, and security outside of the Lord run into sorrow, frustration, and dead-ends.  Psalm 16:4 tells us that "The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods."  If we put anything or anyone ahead of the Lord in our lives, that person or thing becomes our god.  If we put anything or anyone ahead of the Lord in our lives; we will lose our joy, peace, and security.  Our lives will then consist of nothing but sorrow and frustration.  True joy can only be found in the Lord!

The Lord, however, has assigned His children a wonderful inheritance or portion in Him!  David said in Psalm 16:5-6, "Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance."  The Lord alone is our "delightful inheritance"  and "portion."

Those who do not know the Lord are running around madly looking for joy and security in the useless things of this world.  Joy, peace, and security are only the rightful inheritance and portion of those who are in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Lord God is all that we need, and He must ultimately become all that we desire.  The Lord alone fulfills. delights, and satisfies.

The Lord is also our help and counselor in the dark and difficult times of life.  David said in Psalm 16:7, "I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me."  The Lord is our help, and He instructs us especially during the difficult times of life.  There is joy and peace in Him during those challenging and dark times of life.  Therefore we can say with David, "I have set the Lord always before me.  Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." (Psalm 16:8) Our security  and sense of well-being need never be unsettled or disturbed, because we belong to the Lord!

As a child of God our hearts can be glad and full of joy.  Our tongues can sing the Lord's praises, and our very beings can be at peace and resting securely in the Lord.  Further, we have an eternal future with our Lord!  There is no security or joy like this found anywhere else but in the Lord. Only in the presence of the Lord and in our relationship with the Lord can we find this kind of joy, peace, and security.  May our prayer to God be, "You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand."  (Psalm 16:11)  Living in the Lord's will and presence is the secret to joy, peace, and "eternal pleasures!"