Fullness Of Joy (Psalm 16:11)

 


Friday, 5 September, 2025


Psalms 15; 16

1 Kings 5

Acts 25:13-27


Fullness Of Joy (Psalm 16:11)


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


Surrounded as we are with such luxury (for even the poorest in Australia have more than most others), I wonder if this line from today’s Psalm perhaps escapes our understanding. Material things, while not inherently bad nor good, can, if we are not careful, distract us from the fullness of joy that comes from communion with the Lord.


We can take the good things God has given us and give him thanks for them – and we should. Warm blankets, a car that works, the little trinkets we accumulate over time are all wonderful examples of how God is good to us. But even then there is the natural inclination to favour the gift over the gift-giver.


When I was preparing for entering formation, I found there were certain things that were getting in the way of my spiritual communion with God. Personally I found it helpful to think on the saints of the Bible who, while having nothing of the modern luxuries we know of today, had a great joy because of their close communion with God. It’s almost as if there is some secret to happiness and contentment hidden behind the things we have.


So when coming across a line like this one from the Psalm, I begin to think of the things in my life, and wonder if, were I to not have them, how much happier I might be in the Lord.


What brings you joy in the Lord? What might be distracting you from the fullness of the joy of being in the Lord’s presence?


O God of our refuge, apart from whom we have no good: may we continually thank you for the material blessings you shower upon us, and may they never be a barrier to deeper communion with you.

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