Hearing His Voice #123

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

Maybe you think God is mainly interested in getting you to follow instructions. Perhaps you expect Him to focus on your productivity. Or maybe you are more aware of His inward emphasis—on conforming you to the image of His Son. After all, God is very clear in His Word about our obedience and fruitfulness, and even more so about our character. No one can argue that these are not biblical themes. But according to this verse, there’s an even higher destination for us: pleasure.

If that’s hard to believe, it’s because of our own sense of unworthiness on top of two thousand years of church teaching about austerity and deprivation and mortifying the flesh. In most Christian circles, pleasure is a bad word. But what do we think obedience and fruitfulness and conformity to Christ are all about? Do we believe that God’s ultimate goal for us is changed behavior or a reshaped character? Those are simply pathways to something much greater. They lead to joy in our relationship with God, fulfillment in everything He created us to be, satisfaction in our deepest desires, and glory—that is, God’s relentless goodness. His goal for us, as one translation puts it, is “pleasures evermore.” God is leading us toward having a really good time.

That’s why He shows each of us “the way of life,” why He speaks to us and gives us direction. He isn’t opposed to our pleasure; He’s actually helping us toward the most thorough and lasting way to experience it. What often seems like stern resistance to our desires is really God’s way of redirecting us into more fulfilling ones. Every time His words seem difficult, they are offering an accelerated pathway into His joy instead. God really is on our side!

Lord, I long for the eternal pleasures at Your right hand. I know many of them begin now, and I want to experience them fully. Please honor my attentiveness to Your words by giving me strong tastes of those pleasures in this age.