The good thing
This is such a simple verse from David in Psalm 16 and yet I find it so profound. I love the heart for God that David reveals here. This is the kind of heart that I want to have.
Psalm 16:2
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”
You are my Lord
Lord means ‘master’. David is saying that God is his ‘sole leader’. It’s a declaration of intent and faith. David is declaring, “Others may have their hearts set on other ‘gods’, but I’ve formally and firmly decided that God is my master — no one else!” This means that his heart was set on serving the Lord.
This verse speaks to the condition of our hearts today. Where others may be seeking a better job, a more secure financial future, a new car etc. our hearts are set on pleasing Jesus.
apart from you
David recognises that he may be a king, but that without God he actually has nothing. David had in effect reached he pinnacle of human achievement in his context and culture. He was the top dog in the palace. But in this he realised that ‘apart from God’ he actually had nothing.
How can this be? Simply, when you have a powerful position you have to work to keep it. When you have precious possessions you have to protect your resource! Having stuff is not easy because you have to work to keep them. David gets this!
I have no good thing
In fact he says that he has ‘no good thing’ apart from his relationship with the Father. What a perspective to keep as a King. He counted “it all loss” but to have peace in God. He had heaps of things, but the one hong he values above all was his reliance on God.
Application
- Is my heart set on serving the Lord above all else?
- If you were ‘part from God’ would you still have something?
- What is the ‘good thing’ in your life?
Prayer
Lord, I relieved hat you are Lord. Thank you for setting my heart straight, for removing my focus from everything else but the desire to serve and please you. Thank you for the freedom this brings and give me grace to walk in this today.
