April 9 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Careful parents and pastors often warn young Christians that the Christian life is not all joy and happiness. It involves self-denial and unexpected pain. The Christian life demands a new obedience that goes against the old grain. It isn't easy to be a Christian.

Such warnings are necessary. Especially in a time when everyone is busy seeking self-fulfillment, the expectations of young Christians may be quite wrong. Warnings are in order when success-oriented writers and speakers present Christianity as the best of all possible ways to total happiness. Our ideas of total happiness must also be converted and transformed.

Yet too many warnings may have the wrong effect.

Christ does make us happy. And God is our joy. David already knew that our God does not only give happiness, but is what he gives: "apart from you, I have no good thing."

The rich and happy vocabulary of Psalm 16 becomes even more mean­ingful when we read it under the lamp of the New Testament. This way of life, along which the psalmist moves from one surprise to another, is really Jesus. Verse 10, which says that God will not abandon us to the realm of the dead, actually tells about Christ's resurrection. Jesus is the path of life—straight to the joy of the Father (Acts 2:25-31).

So Psalm 16 does give us a vision of Jesus as the source of our happi­ness. We'd better drink it in. Jesus is the path of life. He is not only the way that leads to life but also the path along which life is enjoyed. This is life. His presence is our life. And therefore we are "filled with joy" and have an infinite future "with eternal pleasures" at God's right hand.

Frankly, we have no right to discourage the most optimistic Christian. Indeed, this life is full of joy, and it's going to get better yet.

REFLECTIONS

Reflect on a recent time when you really experienced the joy of God's presence.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.