refuge

Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord: apart from you I have no good thing."

As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.

The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.

I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips.

Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup (you are my portion); you have made my lot secure.

The boundary lines have falled for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.


I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.


I have set the Lord always before me.  Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.


Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure,


because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.


You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence (in your presence is fullness of joy), with eternal pleasures at your right hand.



Psalm 16.
Not the one I was looking for today, but definitely something I needed to read.  To let soak in.  To receive.
"Apart from you I have no good thing."  not one. not my friends, not my family, not my fiance, not the kids, not this ministry and vision, not even the sun to warm me... apart from Jesus, nothing is good.  with Jesus, even the struggles lead to something good.  beauty for ashes.  gladness for mourning.  laughter for tears.  life for death.
You are my portion.  and you are enough.  more than enough.  sufficient.  abundant.  overflowing. never-running-out.  
The boundary lines have fallen for in in pleasant places.  Surely I have a delightful inheritance.  and not by chance.  surely you, oh God, have chosen an inheritance that is delightful, and boundary lines that are pleasant for me.  your will and your plans are not only perfect and good, but also pleasing and agreeable.
I will praise the Lord!
I will not be shaken
my heart is glad
my tongue rejoices
my body also will rest secure
...for in you I take refuge
in your presence is fullness of joy.




His presence IS the blessing.  I need to receive what's already mine: fullness of joy, security, stability, peace, every good thing, the assurance that God holds the outcome in his hands, and that even as he allows difficulties, it is to work them into a beautiful redemption in our lives.