The Path of Life

Psalm 16:11. David says that God makes known to him the path of life, that in God's presence there is fullness of joy, and that at his right hand are pleasures forevermore. It is one of the most complete sentences in the Bible. A path, a presence, and a pleasure, and all three belong to God.

Notice that the path is made known. We do not invent it or stumble onto it. It is shown. Notice too that joy is located in a presence, not in a circumstance. The psalm does not say that in good health or in a solved problem there is fullness of joy. It says in your presence.

Peter preached this verse at Pentecost in Acts 2:25-28, and he said it was ultimately about Jesus, whom God did not abandon to the grave. The path of life, it turns out, runs through a tomb and out the other side. As June begins, that is the path we are on. It is not always pleasant. But it is the path of life, and it ends at his right hand.