Joy and Pleasure Forever

Written by Ryan Miller

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Psalm 16:11

What is the purpose of this post?

Good question.

I suppose it’s to appeal to the part of you that wants pleasure; the part of you that is searching for contentment, fulfillment, happiness, and all other good emotions.  I want to share the following thoughts with you because they were helpful for me, and I hope they might be helpful for you as well.

I want to show you, through this verse, why you should go with Christianity.  With Jesus.

If you already walk with Jesus, then I simply hope to provide you encouragement as you walk with him, no matter what season of life you might find yourself in.

I’m searching for pleasure in my life – as much as I can get really.  I bet you are too.

And what I’ve found over the years is that what I think is real pleasure is often fleeting.  Things such as possessions, sexual acts, friendships, grades, and wins.

I always seem to think they’ll satisfy.  And yet, I know they won’t, at least in my head.  I bet you know this too.

Which is what led me to thinking about this verse.

Consider with me: If there is “fullness of joy” and “pleasures forevermore” in the presence of God, where else would we want to be?  What more could we ask for?

If you and I will be full of joy and pleasure at God’s right hand, does it matter what we’re doing?

Absolutely not!

Think about it: Joy will be full.  Pleasures will be present forever.  We could be cleaning trash out of a dumpster in Clinton, SC, and yet, if we were full of pleasure and joy while doing so, where else would we want to be?

What we seek – what you and I really seek – isn’t things.  We don’t seek “stuff”.

What we seek, if we actually take the time to think about it, is pleasure.

The reason we chase after “stuff” – such as

possessions,
sexual acts,
friendships,
grades,
wins,
cars,
homes,
money,
reputation,
power,
respect,
influence,

etc. is because we believe these things will bring us pleasure.  We’re absolutely convinced of it, and so we seek our pleasure through these things.

Otherwise, why would we pursue them?

And yet, when we indulge ourselves in the things of this world, we fail to realize that fullness of joy is only found in God’s presence, and only at God’s right hand are pleasures forevermore.

I want to seek to be in God’s presence.  I want to seek to be at his right hand.  I want to put myself in places where I can experience more of him – “under the waterfall of his grace” – if for no other reason than because I want pleasure.  And I am convinced that a relationship with Jesus will bring me the most pleasure.

And I am convinced that a relationship with Jesus will bring youthe most pleasure as well.

Yes, you and I can only experience a taste of this pleasure currently because this world is full of sin and debauchery that are a result of the Fall.

But, we can still seek that shadow, that taste, of what is to come.  And one day soon, we can look forward to it being here in full.

My prayer, my plea, for you is that you will seek true pleasure, rather than what the world markets that never quite seems to satisfy – the stuff that often leaves us feeling a whole lot emptier inside than when we first picked it up.

I pray that you and I would ditch the mentality of the world; that we would be in the world but not of it; that we would ditch the whatever-you-believe-is-your-truth mentality, and that we would strive with all of our hearts towards Jesus, so that we might gain fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore at God’s right hand.

For those who like concise summaries:

In God’s presence there is fullness of joy.
At God’s right hand are pleasures forevermore.
We all seek joy.
We all seek pleasure.
Therefore, if we want pleasure and joy, we should seek to be in God’s presence.

For more from Ryan: http://www.thriveintheword.com/