The Path of Life

Mar 21 2025 - Eric Buresh

I’m going to indulge myself with a slightly longer post today to share a meditation on one of my life versus that I anchor to daily: Psalm 16:11. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 

Man was not made for himself, nor for the vanities of this passing world. He was created to enjoy God. The breath in his lungs, the faculties of his soul, and the longings of his heart all testify that he was fashioned to know and delight in his Creator. Before time began, God Himself dwelt in perfect joy—the joy of the Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in eternal communion, lacked nothing, needed nothing, but delighted in one another with a joy and love immeasurable and infinite. And when God made man, He designed him to share in that joy, to enter the delight of His presence. Sin severed man from that holy communion because imperfection and perfection are incompatible. Man turned from the fountain of living waters to broken cisterns that can hold no water. Yet, praise be to God, He has not left us in our estrangement. Through Christ, the path of life has been opened again, and through the Holy Spirit, we are even now granted a foretaste of the joy that shall be ours in full. 

David declares, “You will show me the path of life.” Man, in his prideful blindness, cannot find this path on his own, nor will he seek it apart from divine grace. But God does not leave His people wandering in darkness. The Lord Himself shows us the way! And what is this path? It is Christ Himself. He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). There is no other way to God’s presence, no other road to eternal joy, but through the Savior. The moment a man turns from his own way and trusts in Christ, he is set upon this path. And though it may be narrow, it is the way of life, the way of peace, and the way of joy. It is the Spirit who leads us on this road. “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit does not merely point to the path; He walks with us in it. He is our Comforter, our Counselor, our ever-present help. And the more we yield to His leading by faith, the more we experience the blessedness of this path. 

David goes further: “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” Here is the supreme delight of the soul—not the gifts of God, but God Himself! The greatest joy of heaven is not the absence of sorrow, nor the reunion with loved ones, nor the golden streets, but the presence of the Lord! And yet, this joy is not reserved for heaven alone. Even now, by the Spirit, we can taste and see that the Lord is good. Christ has purchased for us the privilege of God’s presence. The veil is rent, the way is open, and through the Spirit, we are brought near. “I will dwell with them, and walk among them,” said the Lord (2 Corinthians 6:16). Do you know this joy? Have you learned what it is to enter communion with your God, to delight in His presence? If not, it is not because He is distant, but because your heart is too full of other things to be filled with the presence of the Spirit. Empty yourself, and you shall be filled with God. 

Finally, “At Your right hand are pleasures for evermore.” The pleasure of the world is fading, fleeting, and false, but the pleasure of the Lord’s presence is enduring, increasing, and true. The pleasures of sin are but for a season, but the pleasures of God know no end. Even now, the Spirit grants us a foretaste of this pleasure. He is called “guarantee of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14), a downpayment of the full pleasure to come. And the more we walk in step with the Spirit, the more we experience pleasure. The path of life is not meant to be walked in gloom, but in gladness. The holiest men have ever been the happiest men, for they have found their satisfaction in God. 

You were made for this! You were not created for trivial pleasures, but for the infinite joy of God’s presence. Do not settle for lesser things. Do not content yourself with the husks of the world when the feast of heaven is set before you. The Spirit is given that you may walk the path of life even now. Follow His leading. Walk with God. And as you do, your joy will increase, your delight will deepen, and your heart will be satisfied.