Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalms 16:9-11 NASB
It is really not hard to find something to be thankful for in America. We are a nation of plenty and tend to measure our blessings in terms of material things and resources. Even the poorest in America seem to have an abundance of things. As we list our blessings, we tend to review those things around us that bring us some happiness, joy or security. There is that word again…things.
Sometimes we do measure how good our lives are by what we have. The trouble with measuring our blessings by our materialpossessions is that apart from God there is no good thing. The eternal blessings of God also bring great joy to our lives. There is a deep joy that comes from the spirit or soul of this man as he considers the eternal blessings of Jehovah. As these words are considered, it is evident that his joy is overflowing into song. The words “my glory rejoices” can better be rendered “my tongue rejoices.”
Have you really thanked God for your salvation and the fact that our souls will not undergo decay as the writer says? In the order of blessings, that seems to be one that stands high on the list. Our salvation is not something that we purchased or earned but came as a gift of God through His Son.
What about the wisdom that God has given as He has directed our steps through the past year? It seems that in all of our lives we can see where an answer came just at the right time to a moment of concern or confusion. God also has provided purpose for the days and paths of our lives bringing together our past and present course toward His design for our lives.
The Psalmist also speaks of being thankful for joy we find in the presence of God regardless of the circumstances. When life is difficult and burdens are heavy, is there any other place that we can discover peace and security that we find in the presence of God in prayer and worship. The assurance we find in singing His praise and reading His word is uplifting.
The final words of the writer in this Psalm sum up the eternal blessing of God… “In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” Your see, many of the things we were thankful for in years past are gone from our lives for they were temporal. The things that brought us joy may have even become burdens instead of blessings. But the pleasures that God gives are everlasting.
So, as you give thanks this year to God, don’t forget His eternal gifts.
Scripture to Claim:
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 2 Corinthians 2:14 NASB
