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 16:11)In this verse, the word “joy” means a great mirth and pleasure. The verse expresses the idea of making a feast before God. No matter how tasty the snack from the pantry, it cannot compare to the delight that God gives. I agree.
Fitzpatrick also points to several verses that remind me that my desires should be for God and that I need to seek Him for all that I need.
I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah (Psalm 143:6)
My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. (Isaiah 26:9)
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42:2)
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1)These verses convict me. The author of this book likens my problem to a child wanting to play in mud when they could be on a white-sand beach.
Spurgeon also speaks about our desire for pleasure. He says that wanting to escape the cares and problems of this life is part of our desire for heaven. However, instead of wanting to be with Jesus, this desire to escape pain can become the greater motive. He then points to the saints of old who put up with their lot in life knowing that something greater awaited them.
These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:13–16)God is preparing a better place. He did not promise a life free from care on this earth though. My heaven is not here. Part of learning to walk with Him is learning to accept trials as part of His plan for my maturity. Being like Jesus means suffering as well as blessing.
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Oh my God, as much as You have blessed my life, the better place, the greater pleasure waits for me. Can I wait for it? For You? Or will I sinfully and selfishly try to create my own pleasures? Self-indulgence is not the same has enjoying Your blessings. Is my life that difficult that I cannot say No to selfish habits? I think of You, Jesus, on the cross when offered gall the first time. You refused because You didn’t want anything to numb Your senses. You refused to indulge any desire to be pain-free. Instead, You endured the pain as part of what You must do to pay the price for my sin. How can I be so selfish as to want food or anything else that I do not need — rather than seek You and experience the fullness of joy that You promise?
I am ashamed. I can see how my self-indulgence could lead me away from being in good shape now to bad health, huge weight problems, even death. Compared to the fullness of joy that You offer, this desire to eat when I’m not hungry is totally ridiculous. Help me replace it with that yearning for You described by the psalmist who said,
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. (Psalm 73:25)
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