SOME MARVELOUS ENCOURAGEMENT

Psalm 16:6-11 NKJV 
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; 
Yes, I have a good inheritance. 
7 I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; 
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. 
8 I have set the Lord always before me; 
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. 
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; 
My flesh also will rest in hope. 
10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, 
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 
11 You will show me the path of life; 
In Your presence is fullness of joy; 
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 

This Psalm is such a blessing and contains great insight. In these verses, we see what the Lord provides for us and what we can do to stay strong. 

I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel. That's good to know. If the Lord gave David counsel, wisdom, understanding, and direction, then He can do the same thing for me. He can do the same thing for you. Our God is not running low on counsel, and it's counsel for our benefit. He does not need counsel. 

Our heart instructs us in the night. This tells us where to look for the counsel. Not in our heads but in our hearts. King Solomon wrote that the spirit or heart of man was the candle of the Lord. (Prov 20:27) That's where God's counsel comes to us. This is why so many people get revelation, and insight in the shower. When we are not occupied in our minds with stuff, we are able to hear what our heart is saying. The night season can represent when we get quiet. 

Setting the Lord before us is a mindset that we are constantly bringing the Lord into our situation. We are looking for His counsel. We are doing things with Him in mind. We are the ones putting Him at the forefront. And because we are conscious of the Lord, we are not moved. We know He is close, we know He is with us, and we are not moved or shaken. 

And because we are bringing the Lord into our lives, we are not moved and not sad. We are glad because in our hearts, we know we'll come through. And we are at rest because we have hope. Where we keep our mind has an impact. To be spiritually minded, setting the Lord before us produces life and peace. 

And I love verse 11. "You will show me the path of life." What a great promise that I have prayed now for years. I may not know exactly what to do, but You, Lord, will show me the path of life, not death. What is the path of life for the situations we face, large and small? The Lord our Shepherd knows the path we are to be on, and He will show it to us. See what I mean about these verses being encouraging. Counsel, peace, gladness, and the path of life all sound good to me. 

APPLICATION 

Right before I went in for LASIK surgery, the Lord showed me the path of life for me. I had never been under the knife, so I was a bit uncertain, even though this procedure is very common. But they do cut lines in your eyes to make the correction. The idea of a knife and my eye didn't sound good. Until. Until the Lord impressed verse six of this Psalm to my heart. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. As soon as I received that counsel, I had peace. And all turned out well. 

These psalms are more than nice words. They are words of encouragement and life.