July 23, 2018 – Psalm 16:7-9

I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night, my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken,  for He is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. Psalm 16:7-9.

Such assurance and knowing in our hearts brings us joy and peace.  Once we have felt His Presence, we know the utter joy of never being alone. We know our Lord hears our thoughts as though they are spoken. Our words praise or deny Him and all He is.

Once we follow God’s Son, Jesus, with our whole heart, this Joy is ours, not for a brief period of time, but for an eternity.  No calamity is great enough to make us truly alone when our hearts are in harmony with Jesus, who loved us first.

While writing today, old hymns declaring faith sing in my mind and heart.  Blessed Assurance, Does Jesus Care, and We Shall Behold Him.  When this life is finished, what matters?  The underlying strength of our lives is embodied in these words from John 15:12-13. This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.  There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Jesus completes this thought with these words, You are my friends if you do what I command.  

Yesterday, a small girl lifted her arms to me.  She didn’t know me.  I reached down and hugged her. This tiny girl gave me a lesson on how to love – like Jesus loves.

Jesus died on the cross and rose again that we might have this promise of love everlasting.  His love becomes woven into the tapestry of lives,  and the song we sing each day. 

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