“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
I never noticed this passage until recently. Like so much of the Bible, we notice a passage when we most need that passage.
“Yet I am always with you” What a comfort to know that whether we feel like it or not, we are always with God. When we feel isolated or alone, we can know He is our constant companion. When we feel overwhelmed and confused, He wants to make sense out of confusion. When we are facing great danger or sorrow, He is there to give us peace making everything turn out for our good and for His glory.
The semicolon between the previous passage and “you hold me by my right hand” indicate that they mean almost the same thing. It also is similar in meaning to: “You guide me with your counsel”. What joy and peace knowing God guides us with His counsel.
God has given us a free will but the consequences of our decisions are determined by spiritual laws: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8 We have a great deal to do with determining our destiny yet whether we realize it or not God basically is in control of our lives. Following are passages which show this:
“To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue.” Proverbs 16:1 Even what a person says is controlled by God. Much of what I have said, especially in critical times, is what the Lord put in my mouth to say.
“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
“A man’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?” Proverbs 20:24
“I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.” Jeremiah 10:23
“The lot is cast in the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” Proverb s 16:33
However, to have God’s wisdom it is necessary to be directed by the Spirit: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5
Those who are directed by the Spirit will have a smooth, firm path. They know they are doing God’s will:
“The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth.” Isaiah 26:7
“If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm” Psalm 37:23 How wonderful to be guided by His counsel!
After this life of blessing (which comes from choosing to be His child), we are taken to heaven: “and afterward you will take me into glory”. If we really understand this promise (of being directed by Him in everything and then taken to heaven), we would be constantly praising God. “All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.” Proverbs 15:15 To have a continual feast is possible.
The more we get to know Jesus, the more we become like Him, and the more of a continual feast we can have: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
This is because we have learned to trust Him: “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” Everyone we hold dear to us can go, but God will not. He is always with us and will always take care of us. He is all we need.
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart”. My whole being may fail, but God is the strength of my inner most being. For instance, even children of God that have mental failings are still children of God. In their inner most beings they love God.
How amazing to realize that God is “my portion forever.” Nothing can separate us from the love of God either on earth or for eternity: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
wow, that was amazing. thanks. god bless