Dear Friends,
David concludes his song in Psalm 16 with these words:
Psalm 16:11 NIV
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.
These words sound like the very words of our Savior Jesus Christ. First, He experienced life, death, and the pathway into immortality. Jesus truly died and, on the third day, His tomb was empty. His resurrected body left the tomb and He appeared to many!
Jesus was then filled with joy in God’s presence. After his ascension, his perfect prayer in John 17 was fulfilled.
John 17:4-5 NIV
I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Jesus and the Father experienced mutual glorification in heaven. Finally, all of these blessings come to Jesus at the Father’s right hand; this is His rightful place of exaltation as Paul says in Philippians 2:9-11.
Philippians 2:9-11 NIV
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
As we seek to exalt Jesus in our own lives, may we also experience the joy found only in His presence forevermore.
Be encouraged,
Pastor Rick