Psalm 16: No Good Thing

“I said to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’ ” (Psalm 16:2)

One of the major growing-up steps in the Christian life is to be able to say – and believe (much harder) – the statement David makes to God in this verse.

jump_350It’s a dangerous faith statement. To believe it is to leave all the false self-hope behind. To believe it is to say, “Everything I thought I’d given to myself was actually God’s gift to me.” To believe it is to say, “Every good thing I don’t have right now is something my loving Father didn’t give to me – so I must not need it in this moment.”

To believe this statement – and all the implications it brings – is to step into the deeper end of the faith pool. It’s an idea that should fill us with gratitude as we notice all the good things we have. But it’s also one that will challenge our willingness to trust the powerful Father who knows us best to give us what he decides is for our good in his timing.

Think: How convinced are you that you have no good thing apart from God? Is there a difference between agreeing with this idea on paper and actually living like it’s true?

Pray: Thank God that he is the source of every truly good thing in your life. Ask him to help you to trust his timing to provide you with good things in the future.

Do: Read another expression of this idea in James 1:16-18.