THE PATH OF LIFE

You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11

The Dynamics of the Path of Life from Psalm 16

1                  Cry out “Help!” Preserve me! (v1) Blog on Dec 5

2                  Affirm God as the Lifeguard  (v1) Preserve me, O God Blog on Dec 15

3 . . . and in You do I put my trust and hide myself. Psalm 16:1 (Amplified Bible)

The fabulous sensation of relaxing into trust must rank high on everyone’s scale of satisfaction and pleasure. Think of the proposal of marriage: someone trusts you sufficiently to seek, and commit to, a lifetime offering companionship, security and intimacy. It is only a proposal, however, and it requires a response. The proposal ends in a joint commitment of breath taking dimensions:

“I take you . . .

To have and to hold . . .

For better for worse . . .

For richer for poorer . . .

In sickness and in health . . .

As long as we both shall live . . .”

 The marriage covenant requires each participant to say “I do.”

 God says “Yes” in Christ:

“For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” He is the one whom I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. (1 Corinthians 1:19-21 New Living Translation)

Some circumstance in David’s colorful life brings him to the brink, so he cries out for help and affirms his trust. The day unfolds and emotions swirl as reality overshadows. A brief time elapses and another wave dumps him. Once more, and not for the last time that day, he shouts “Help!” adding the affirmation “in you I put my trust!”  Trust is a journey, not an event. Or, better yet, a journey of many events. Each and every event in your life requires you repeat the affirmation and commitment. This is how we hide ourselves in Him.

The Synergy in Harmony

A loving husband embraces his fearful wife and reassures her “We are in this together.” As she leans into the embrace of his love, in the harmony of the moment, a transformation occurs. Reassurance floods her, the negative emotions of anxiety and fear, like a leaden lump of dread in the gut, are replaced with the nervous excitement of anticipation. The two currents of separate energy from husband and wife combine into the stronger force of a relentless river. Nervous still, but now curious and expectant about the outcome, the trusting person looks to an entirely different destination. Once it was a journey of despair, now it is an expedition of hope. How much more when the feeble life of a mortal being merges with the inexhaustible energy of The Mighty God!

Hear now God’s commitment to you in Jesus Christ:

“I take you . . .

To have and to hold . . .

For better for worse . . .

For richer for poorer . . .

In sickness and in health . . .

As long as we both shall live.”

 What is needed of you at this moment?             “I do.”

Listen now with astonished amazement; God is the author behind your promise of “I do.”  He is prompting you with the cue of Jesus:

“When I proclaimed the Son of God among you, did you pick up on any yes-and-no, on-again, off-again waffling? Wasn’t it a clean, strong Yes? Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete.”  (1 Corinthians 1:19-22 The Message)

Say it, “I do.” Keep saying it, “I do.”