Episode Transcript
CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
SCRIPTURE
Psalm 16 NIV
Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.
I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
I say of the holy people who are in the land,
“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
or take up their names on my lips.
LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep my eyes always on the LORD.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
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.
CONSIDER THIS
This psalm is a master class in what it looks like to rejoice in God. At the beginning, the psalmist makes a bold statement: “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing” (v. 2). It’s a declaration that all true goodness, satisfaction, and joy can only come from a loving relationship with God.
But what about when our joy is absent? When our hearts are restless and burdened?
The answer likely lies in where our love and devotion are being directed.
Verse 4 contains a sobering insight into why we may be experiencing a lack of joy: “Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.” The word translated as suffering here specifically refers to a sorrow, pain, injury, or wound. The ESV puts it this way: “The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply.”
Many idols promise to bring us joy: money, power, status, sex, approval, beauty, popularity, control, success . . . the list goes on and on. We pursue these things in hope that they will live up to their promise, but we find that the opposite is true. We’re left wounded and empty, in some cases worse off than when we started. Our sorrows have multiplied.
We were created to worship, and the human desire for joy and contentment is actually a good thing. I believe God created us with these desires so that we might find they are met in Him. The problem is when our design as worshippers and these God-given desires are directed toward the wrong things.
The psalm exemplifies to us that lasting joy is found in friendship and relationship with God. The psalmist receives counsel from God in the late watches of the night; his eyes are on God always, and he knows God is at his right hand. Life with God is a priority, and friendship with God is a reality.
This results in a glad heart, a mouth that rejoices in God, and a body that rests secure in the promise that we will not be abandoned. The love and proximity of God to us produce joy and love for God in us.
Why? Because God can live up to the promise other gods can’t. The deepest desires and longings of our hearts can only be perfectly fulfilled in God.
If you’re feeling empty, joyless, sorrowful, or wounded, I’d like to invite you to consider that God may be inviting you to deeper companionship and delight in Himself, to turn away from idols and return to Him afresh.
RESPONSE PROMPTS
What idols are you tempted to pursue in search of joy? Consider the following: approval, control, comfort, doctrinal pride, entertainment, politics, success, productivity, and so forth.
PRAYER
My God, You are my God. In Your presence there is fullness of joy. I know that apart from You, I have no good thing. With You, I have every good thing. I confess that I have worshipped lesser gods and I have loved lesser things more than I have loved You. Today, I turn away from the idol(s) of [name what you answered in the prompt] and turn toward You. I receive Your forgiveness. Thank You, God, that You loved me first. Help me to love You rightly and to rest in Your love for me. Amen.
