25-28 “David said about Him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, because You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, You will not let Your holy one see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’”
Acts 2:25-28 (NIV)
Sometimes we struggle to see ourselves and our situations as we ought. Agree? Sometimes we can be blind, clueless and stuck more often than we’re willing to admit.
Did something come to mind for you as you read my first sentence?
There are two things more important to see than ourselves and our situations. When we see this pair, everything else becomes clearer:
- God
- “the paths of life”
That’s what today’s Scripture shows us. Let’s break it down a bit further.
SEEING GOD: Notice three accents in this Scripture:
- BEFORE ME: See God out in front. (You often will when you read His Word, the Bible.) Look for Him ahead and find Him there.
Don’t leave Him in the background. Don’t see Him after you see yourself. Our vision gets blurry when we come first.
BESIDE ME: See God at your right hand, only an arm’s length away. Draw near to Him so that’s all the distance there is between you and Him. Include Him in your every life huddle.
ALWAYS: Have God always in view. Like a basketball player who always knows where the rim is no matter where he moves on the court, always keep the Lord in view. Great players have the bucket in their mind’s eye. So too, should we with Him.
SEEING THE PATHS OF LIFE: What great confidence comes when we can see where someone or something is going ahead of time! God, in His infinite wisdom and great kindness, continually seeks to show us whether or not we’re headed in the right direction.
Like the North Star that orients us in the right direction, when we hang with God, He gives us great clues about which way to go and about everything else (Isaiah 30:21).
And as we continually keep Him in view, both before us and beside us, here is how, according to the Scriptures, He will make us feel: unshakable, glad, rested, hopeful, unabandoned, indestructible, directed, and full of joy.
What a great emotional gift package His presence brings! March on with that.
Reflect: How skillful and disciplined are you in looking ahead for God, seeing Him before you, letting Him help you “find your way home”? In what part of your life do you need to draw Him nearer?
Memorize Psalm 16:11 (ESV), “You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Make this your self-talk. You’ll be glad!
A prayer to consider: LORD, thanks for pointing me to how I must see You and what matchless things I’ll find and feel every time I do. There’s nowhere else I’ll find the paths of life and fullness of joy apart from You. Amen.
