The Pleasures of God
A phrase in Psalm 16:11 has captivated my attention for weeks now. David wrote, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” I have been meditating and savoring the phrase, “At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” David, of course, is speaking of eternity. He writes in verse nine, that his entire being rejoices in the Lord, and that his flesh dwells securely in God. Verse ten, he takes it a step further and talks about how God will not abandon his soul at the moment of death. He then gives a messianic prophecy concerning Christ and His resurrection. He progresses from talking about his flesh in verse nine to his soul in verse ten, to being ushered into the very presence of God where there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore in verse eleven.
Do you ever think about the eternal pleasures of God? It was J. C. Ryle who said, “Dull and earthly must that mind be, which never considers Heaven.” Revelation 21 paints a beautiful portrait of how God will one day wipe away every tear from our eyes and we will know the fullness of His joy. We should spend more time thinking of Heaven, because it is where we are going to spend eternity.
Moses chose the pleasures of God over the treasures of Egypt. Hebrews 11:25 says, “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” Doesn’t that phrase, the pleasures of sin for a season, jump out to you when we consider the pleasures of God forevermore found in Psalm 16:11? What a contrast!
In Genesis 25, Jacob is making a pot of stew when his older brother, Esau, comes in from a hunting trip. Esau was willing to trade his birthright for a bowl of Jacob’s stew. It was one of the dumbest decisions in history. I often wonder how quickly that hot bowl of stew became cold and lost its appeal. Is there sin in your life that is like that pot of stew? There’s pleasure in it only for a moment, yet in reality, you are trading the eternal pleasures of God for the fleeting pleasures of sin.
