Before me….

In my quiet time this morning I was reading Psalm 16. I am somewhat familiar with the Psalm because one of my favorite bands put this Psalm to music a few years ago. Check out Shane and Shane Psalm 16- Fullness of Joy- you will love it! As I read through the familiar words today, one verse stuck out.

God keeps reminding me of this concept, so I guess I will keep writing about it! I wish that our fickle human hearts could hear a truth once and absorb it fully. I wish we could learn from what we read in God’s Word instead of insisting on learning from hard circumstances and poor choices, but we are human after all. I suppose that’s why the Bible always says we are “being transformed” or we are “being sanctified.” It’s not a one and done kind of process, instead we are constantly learning and growing more into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Verse 8 is what stuck out to me this morning. The first half of the verse says, “I have set the LORD continually before me…” Psalm 16:8 NASB

I have set the Lord before me…. continually I have set Him before me. Other translations phrase it this way: “I keep my eyes always on the LORD…”(NIV) or “I set the LORD always before me…”(ESV). So, what does this mean? I believe the concept is simple. The execution may be somewhat more difficult…. but the concept is easy enough to comprehend. I MUST keep God as my first priority. I MUST choose to wake up each morning and ask God to lead me, direct me. I MUST choose Him daily, or my life will slowly and steadily veer off track.

What is normally before me? Netflix? My favorite movie? Facebook? Instagram? How about a relationship? A hobby? If I am honest, the things I quickly and easily put before myself are very rarely Christ centered. None of these things are bad inherently, but this verse is merely a reminder to check the status of my heart first and foremost. Am I seeking God with all my heart today? Am I desiring to serve God alone and bring Him glory today? Is He my first priority?

I think the word I found most convicting this morning was “continually.” The Bible is full of reminders that our relationship with God should be a part of every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every……I think you get the idea. Our communion with God should infiltrate every aspect of our lives. We are reminded to pray without ceasing. (1 Thess 5:17) We are to rejoice always. (Phil 4:4) Etc. Etc. There are so many reminders in scripture that God should be a part of every aspect of our lives. And that is what continually means. We should always have God and His will before us, this is what we should be seeking. It should be our beacon. The lighthouse on a hill.

The great reward of doing this is found in the second half of the verse. It says: “…Because He is at my right hand. I will not be shaken.” (NASB) When I am faithful in putting God first and highest on my priority list the result is a life with God right by my side. One where I will not be shaken by adversity or change. A life that will hold fast in the winds of the storm, because it is anchored by the only true hope!

What a great promise to know that when I make God my first priority His response is to stay by my side, hold my hand, and lead me down the path of righteousness! He is doing the leading, I just need to fall in step with Him. And because my life is then laid on the only solid foundation, I will never have to fear what comes next. The hard reality is that we know adversity will come. Struggle, pain, trials they WILL come. This is a given. But with the God of the Universe at our side we don’t have to fear. He will lead us through those storms because of His great love for us. He will use your pain to bring glory to His name! He will use your struggle to teach others of the great love of Jesus Christ!

The first and last verses of this Psalm speak the truth of WHY we can put God first, make Him Lord of our lives. They say:
“Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.

I said to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord;

I have no good besides You…….

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

Psalm 16:1-2, 11

This is why we put Him first. He is our refuge. Without Him there is no good thing. And in Him we find full, everlasting joy.  He is a God worth serving. And we will praise Him! Let this become your motivation to continually place the Lord first in your life. Let this serve to inspire you toward truly making God the Lord of your life- the boss!

As for me- I am asking the Holy Spirit today to remind me that I must continually set the LORD before me! He is ready and waiting to grab a hold of my right hand and lead me! And boy, do I need some leading! Thank you, Jesus, for your love, and thank you that you give me just enough grace for today…