A Psalm of Confidence

Numbers 15:1–41; John 20:1–31; Psalm 16:1–11

“You are my Lord,” the psalmist acknowledges. “I have no good apart from you” (Ps. 16:2).

 

We know that God is everything we need, but somehow the details still get in the way. We want to alleviate our troubles through other means—that vacation, the position that will bring recognition, or the spouse who will complete us. The psalmist says that anyone who places their desire in anything other than God will only increase in sorrow (Ps. 16:4).

 

It seems radical and difficult to live out the psalmist’s simple confession. The ancient practice of idol worship is alive and well in our modern-day culture and in our own hearts. (Just look at the magazine rack or tv shows if you think I’m wrong: what is worshiped there?) We are just like the Israelites—unfaithful and prone to “hurry after another god” (Ps. 16:4).

 

For the psalmist, however, “Yahweh is the portion which is my share and my cup” (Ps. 16:5). He is all the psalmist ever needs: “I have set Yahweh before me always. Because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken” (Ps. 16:8). God brings the psalmist hope, and He can do the same for us. We just need to turn to Him.

Today, pray the words of Psalm 16: “You are my Lord. I have no good apart from you.” How can we remind ourselves that He is all we will ever need?

Rebecca Van Noord