You will fill me with joy in your presence. Psalm 16:11
The pandemic was winning. That’s how it looked to Jason Persoff, an emergency room doctor at a large hospital committed to saving patients with Covid. How could he give his best? During off hours, he relaxed by taking enlarged photos of something small—individual snowflakes. It “sounds crazy,” says Dr. Persoff. But finding joy in something small but beautiful is “an opportunity to bond with my Creator and also to see the world in a way that few people take the time to notice.”
Wisely looking for such joy—to ease stress and build resilience—is a high value in the medical profession, the doctor said. But for everyone, he has this advice: “You’ve got to breathe. You have got to find a way to take a breath and enjoy life.”
David the psalmist expressed this thought in Psalm 16 as he declared the wisdom of finding joy in God. “Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup,” he wrote. “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure” (vv. 5, 9).
There are many unwise things people do as they try to decompress. Dr. Persoff found the wise path—one that pointed him to the Creator, who offers us the joy of His presence. “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (v. 11). In Him, we find joy evermore.
How does finding wise joy bless your life? As you read Psalm 16, how can it inspire you to name the ways you find joy in God?
In my life’s journey, O God, please bless me to wisely find joy that starts with You.
INSIGHT
David’s joy in God, expressed so eloquently in Psalm 16:11, is a joy available to us as well. In fact, for the child of God, all we need for joy in our lives has already been provided—the indwelling Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul included joy in the list of the fruit of the Spirit: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). Joy isn’t something we can generate ourselves; it’s the result of the Spirit’s work in us.