I heard the phrase "I have been tempted by unimportant things" on the radio today. What a great way to think of temptations, unimportant! It is the simplicity of the statement and the truth behind it that made it stick with me. Would I be more willing to walk away from temptations if I remembered that they were unimportant? I think so. Life would be so much easier if I was better at recognizing the important from the unimportant. It would save so much time and some heartache.
I prayed for the gift of discernment this morning. I asked the Lord to give me the wisdom to recognize the unimportant temptations and the strength to walk away. I am so grateful for the little nuggets of wisdom that He gives me. It shows me that He loves me!
Psalm 16
In verse 11 we find some of the best promises that come to those who worship God and can be in His presence:
"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
These are a few of the things that happen when we become more and more aware of God's presence:
Show the path of life...
To me this is about learning my place in God's plan. I think of when Isaiah the prophet saw his vision of God sitting on His throne in the temple, his first reaction was one of horror at his own sinfulness.
"Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." (Isa. 6:5)
I think this is one of the things that happens as we come into the presence of light – all of our faults and sins are exposed. We are humbled and shaken in God’s presence. We need to be that way so that we submit to His will. Part of drawing near to God involves submitting to His will and that means that from time to time He’s going to give us directions. He’s going to ask us to do something. It is in this state of humility that He can show us the path of life and we will be willing to accept it.
Fulness of joy...
If you look at the footnote for the word 'fulness' in your scriptures you find the word exaltation. We can't reach this point as we are, so just like with Isaiah, God’s heart is not to leave us in our sinful state, but to cleanse us and forgive us:
"Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." (Isa. 6:6-7)
God longs to have a relationship with us, and that comes after we are humbled and cleansed.
Pleasures for evermore...
I love the cross reference for the word 'pleasures' in this verse:
"They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures." (Psalm 36:8)
Doesn't the phrase "satisfied with the fatness of thy house" bring to mind a picture of a house bulging in all directions because of all the blessings inside it? I love it! Then to top it off the word "river" makes me think of a constant flow of blessings heading in our direction. The Lord is telling us that when we are in His presence we can have blessings like this for evermore!
These are some of the greatest blessings we can receive: Guidance, Joy, and non-stop blessings. The best part of it is that God wants all of His children to have these things in their lives. We can all partake, one more awesome blessing from God!
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