Just a little bit more ∙

Just a little bit more ∙

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. – Psalms 16:11

Psalms 16:1-11

 1 Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge.

 2 I said to the LORD, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.”

 5 LORD, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine.

 7 I will bless the LORD who guides me; even at night, my heart instructs me.

 8 I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

 9 No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety.

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

John D. Rockefeller was asked, “How much money is enough money?” He replied, “Just a little bit more.” What makes him problematic, and why he continues to inspire ambivalent reactions, is that his good side was every bit as good as his bad side was bad. Seldom has history produced such a contradictory figure.

Rockefeller may ultimately be remembered simply for the raw size of his wealth. In 1902, an audit showed Rockefeller was worth about $200 million – compared to the total national wealth of the United States that year of $101 billion. Rockefeller’s net worth, over the last decades of his life, would easily place him among the wealthiest people in history.

In many ways, Rockefeller echoes the hunger in the hearts of most people. Often, it is a vague, nondescript, wistful longing for “more.” But in reality “more” is never enough.

There is a more excellent way. David king of Israel found it and lived it. Repeatedly, David expresses his heart hunger in the Psalms.

Psalm 16, is a Psalm written by David. David recalls the sheer joy of experiencing the Father’s sublime goodness when he enters into His presence. The Father is utterly delightful and pleasant. David recognizes that all good things in his life have come from the Father. His words are filled with a combination of joy, praise, humility, and total acceptance of the Father’s will.

David depended upon the Father for safety. He needed the Father’s continual protection and oversight of the wonderful things He had graciously bestowed upon him. But the value of the good things given to David paled away into insignificance in comparison to the value of the Giver Himself. He treasured the Father before and beyond all else. He is the fountain from which all good things flow.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.

The Father “is a flawless Giver, unlike all earthly givers. Every good and perfect gift is from Him . . .. We might have expected James to say that God only gives good and perfect gifts, but in fact he says more than this. Wherever there is such a thing as a flawless gift, that gift is necessarily from above. All human gifts, by contrast, are flawed in some way because the human giver is flawed. Only God can give perfect gifts” (Zane C. Hodges).

REFLECT & PRAY

Wanting more in and of itself is not a bad thing. Wanting more of the Father is a great thing.

Father how I long to have a heart like David had and his great love and devotion to You. I know that nothing on this earth will ever satisfy me as You alone.

INSIGHT

Regrettably, the longings of human hearts frequently send people on desperate futile quests for satisfaction. David shows us a better way to live. Rather than seeking more things, more wealth, more power, more recognition, etc., David found true contentment was not found “out there.” Rather, he learned to enter into and make himself at home in the Father’s presence.

Psalms 73:25-28

 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.

 26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.

 28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

David truly delighted in just being close to the Father. Being with the Father was the source of his greatest joy and pleasure.

Psalm 16:11 “is unsurpassed for the beauty of the prospect it opens up, in words of the utmost simplicity. The path of life is so called, not only because of its goal but because it is a way to live . . .. It leads without a break into God’s presence and eternity” (Kidner). The joys and pleasures of which David speaks are wholly satisfying and endlessly varied. They are found in what the Father is and what the Father gives (Kidner).

Dwelling in the Father’s presence for all eternity is far beyond anything we can imagine or think.

“In our glorified bodies, we shall be like Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 John 3:1-3), and we shall worship and serve Him forever. The pleasures of heaven will be far beyond any pleasures we have known here on earth, and as we enjoy the Lord and serve Him, we will not be restricted or encumbered by time, physical weakness, or the consequences of sin” (Wiersbe).

We are not ready for such a magnificent reality. contemplating his perfections will be an unceasing sweep of glory for all eternity (Carson).

But something wonderful will happen to us that opens the door to the glorious face-to-face presence of the Father.

We will be so remarkably transformed that our sinfulness, as it were, will have been burned away, the last stages of the old nature, and its sinful desires all gone. We will then have the privilege of gazing at the Father in all of His transcendent holiness (Carson).

We will no longer desire or need just a little bit more!

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 7–16