Joy, Pleasure, Life….

Joy, pleasure, life….

What do you think of when you read those words Friend?

Do your thoughts go up to God or to the world around you?

David could say this…

‘Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’

‘Thou WILT shew me the path of life…’ He trusted, he believed, he knew that God was leading Him and would continue to lead him in the path of life, the path that begins here on earth, the moment we are born again. The path that leads onwards and upwards into an eternity with our God because it’s the path of LIFE!…

‘In the way of righteousness is LIFE ; and in the pathway thereof there is NO death.’

The Hebrew word translated as ‘of life’ is also used to speak of fresh flowing water and the reviving at spring time! It’s a path that revives the weary soul, it’s a path where the water of life is found and where the streams of God’s mercy and grace flow freely for His children to continually come again and again and drink and be satisfied.

Friends, God will shew us how to walk this path, how to walk a path that honours and pleases Him, how to walk in His ways and He’ll keep us there too IF we put our trust in Him to do it for us, rather than trying to walk right in our own strength.

David then tells us where fullness of joy is to be found…

‘in THY presence is fulness of joy;’..

David knew that true joy is only to be found in God’s presence and David had known that joy. He’d known it through the hardest times of his life, he knew the great secret to joy friends, that joy is not found in things or our circumstances but in God’s presence, in walking and communing with our God. And this isn’t just joy, it’s FULLNESS of joy! It’s a full, satisfying, abundant, joy.

David also knew where lasting pleasure is found…

‘at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’

Friends, true pleasure is not found in the fleeting things of this world, it’s really not found in your mobile phone or in shopping for new clothes, it’s found at the right hand of God…

‘at thy right hand there ARE pleasures for evermore.’

ARE friends, not will be when we reach heaven but are, right now! There are pleasures both now and every step along this path of life, right into and through a never ending eternity.

So why do we still look for pleasure in the world when all we need is Jesus?

Because the devil knows how to attract us, he knows our weaknesses and what to allure us with, he’s stronger than us but NOT stronger than Christ in us.

So friends, if we want to begin to know this fullness of joy. And lasting pleasure here below, we need to found at the right hand of God.

We need to be drawing near, leaning upon Him, taking up our cross and following Him, sheltering under, putting our trust….’under the shadow of thy wings.’ because it’s here that the blessings are found…

‘They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light SHALL we see light.’

Psalm 16:11, Prov 12:28, Psalm 36:7-9