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Psalm 16

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I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you."

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:2, 5-6, 11

This only makes sense if you understand that God, the creator of all that is good, is himself the ultimate good. He is the original stuff.

Whatever we call good in this life is only a portion of the real thing. Success. Romance. The perfect cup of coffee. Your baby's eyes locking on yours in recognition for the first time. All good, and all passing and incomplete.

God, the giver of good gifts, is himself the greatest gift. His gifts were given to be enjoyed, but not as ends in of themselves. They were given to point us back to the giver, to see in him the original glory of goodness.

Amazingly, because of the work of Christ, God is not only my father, but his goodness is my inheritance. The boundaries of what I will receive as my birthright in Christ are gloriously placed in God himself.

Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

Because of my sin though, I am born hungry for God but determined to feed on anything but him. I feast on the passing and partial good in creation to satisfy a desire that can only be satisfied in the Good Creator. The result is that I am restless, despondent, dissatisfied, and driven. I hunger and when I feed I hunger even more.

It is only by grace that these rebel appetites can be brought back into submission to their original intent. God not only won my pardon, but has claimed my heart as his own. In grace, and in spite of my dull and restless lusts, will make known to me the path of life - the path that leads back to satisfaction in him, the source of the fullness of joy.

He will retrain my heart to desire his holiness instead of fear it. He will lead me to feast on his goodness.

Prayer:

Lord, train my wandering appetites to crave what is real, lasting, and truly good. Thank you for not growing tired of my persistent wandering away from you. Thank you that you do not get angry or reject me when I reject you as the source of what is truly good and satisfying. Don't allow me to use you to get to something else, to make you a means to an end. Wake me up and give me clear vision so that I can see the true treasure - your love for me in Christ.


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Ryan said…
Good stuff. Reminds me of this:

12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD,
13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. - Jeremiah 2:12-13

My propensity to try to satisfy my longings on anything but God is ridiculous and persistent.
May 31, 2015 at 8:17 AM
stevemizel said…
Ryan - great connection... and, yup, that's my heart too. Thanks for posting.
June 1, 2015 at 2:12 PM
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