Psalm 16:11, "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
When I was a new Christian, I envisioned joy as an end product resulting from fulfillment of my earthly dreams. Like a genie in a bottle, I dictated to God the path I wanted to walk, and expected happiness to result when He made it come true.
Now that I have experienced the disappointments, troubles, and inequities of life, I understand that God's path is less about what happens physically on earth, and more about what happens eternally in my heart and in His kingdom. Psalm 37:5-6 says, "Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass." Bring what to pass? My will? My ideas of what will make me happy? No, it says, "He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday." God's path is about growing a Christlike righteousness in His children that radiates so bright that the darkness cannot overcome it.
I consider the path of the Israelites as they wandered in the desert. Why did God bring them on this toilsome journey? Deuteronomy 8:2-4 says, "the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not." Their path was not for their temporal fulfillment, but rather for the sifting of their character, to see if they would trust God and give glory to Him alone.
Psalm 23:3-4 describes God's way as the path of righteousness. His path is a spiritual one, of right living, of death to sin and life to God. He guides us down it "for His name's sake;" His leading is for the glory of His name. Isaiah 48:10-11 says, "...I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; For how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another." Indeed, the path of Psalm 23 goes "Through the valley of the shadow of death..." As so often is with the Lord, the gateway to life is death itself. Christ's path was laden with sorrow, pain, and the cross. Why should I think that my path would differ? Did I not agree to take up my cross and follow Him?
So much of my life is wasted in anxiety, unthankfulness, and joylessness, when all the while I have full access to the presence of almighty God at every turn. The curtain to the Holy of Holies has been torn in two, and by the blood of Christ I may enter with boldness. In His presence is fullness of joy. Through God's glory is my fulfillment and satisfaction. And God is most glorified when I, like Job, like Christ, trust, obey, and honor Him in the midst of affliction. This is the path of life. This is the path of joy.
