"... I am continually with you." Each of us face times when we feel alone, sometimes even with people all around us. Sometimes we have physical problems but our doctor is on vacation or he doesn't have appointments for several weeks. Sometimes we have major decisions to make and wish that there was somebody there to make it for us. Sometimes we have burdens that we don't want to share even with those who are close to us, often for fear of burdening them. Sometimes the night hours just never seem to pass. But thankfully, the Lord is always there. He has promised never to leave us and He doesn't. He doesn't go on vacation or have office hours - no waiting in line. The older I get, the more I appreciate the reality of His constant presence and I find myself spending more time sharing with Him than ever before.
"you hold my right hand." There is something very special and comforting about holding the hand of a loved one and here the Psalmist reminds us that God holds our hand. And we who are right handed fully understand the importance of the right hand - it is the one we write with, the one we use to eat, the one we use so often for key things in our daily life. By holding our right hand we are reminded that He is always there to control what we do, if we allow Him to do so.
"You guide me with your counsel." Oh how I need the Lord's counsel and guidance daily. Life can be tough when you try to go it alone. Psalm 32:8, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go, I will guide you with my eye." My high school counselors and my college advisors left much to be desired when it came to good counsel. My God's guidance through the Word, through prayer and through circumstances controlled by Him is always perfect and needed.
"and afterward you will receive me to glory." Sometimes that hope is what keeps one going - the assurance that at the end of this earthly road, He will receive us to glory. What a precious promise.
"Whom have I in heaven but you?" Now I admit that I struggle a little with this phrase as well as the one that follows. I have many friends and family members in heaven. And I look forward to being reunited with them. But they can't assure my destiny or my entrance into heaven. It is only through the Son of God, in heaven, that the payment for my entrance has been made. He is the only one there that can guarantee my place. My name is written in His Book of Life.
"and there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you." I also struggle with this, especially since I have family members still here on earth that I love and desire to be with. But even they pale in the light of heaven where we will one day be reunited. I've had my share of honors and they are soon forgotten. I have been blessed with possessions, but they decay and become worthless. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal" Matthew 6:19, 20. Our real treasures are in heaven, not here on earth.
"My flesh and my heart may fail" I can really relate to this statement, especially after recent open heart surgery. As we get older we may joke about how we've slowed down and how many doctors we have seen. But it is true, as we age our bodies do fail, no matter what we do. They are just tents designed to clothe us before we receive our permanent perfect bodies. And so we can endure these circumstances knowing what is just ahead.
"But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." What a profound and perfect testimony. Over my years of being His child I have continually experienced His strength. And indeed, He is my portion ... forever!
Possibly this passage may comfort and encourage you as it did me. Praise the Lord for His Word and His mercies which are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness!
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