Encouragement - Pt. 8

 

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 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 16:7-11 ESV).

 

Even though it has been thirty-six years since my Dad’s death, there are some things that are as vivid as if they occurred yesterday. Our reading today speaks of the “right hand” of God. The image that evokes is that of a strong, secure hand. Dad had those kinds of hands. He was left-handed, as are both my youngest son, Aaron, and my oldest granddaughter, Faith. However, the most notable thing about my Dad’s hands were how big and strong they were. My hands are somewhat calloused from the woodworking I do, however, they are not nearly as large as his were. I can picture clearly those early mornings when he and I would go to the walk-in cooler to get one of the quarters of beef to begin cutting it into steaks, roasts, and trimmings to be ground into hamburger for display and sale.

 

I always tried to keep up with him. Even though I wasn’t nearly as big or strong, I’d proudly walk into the cooler to hoist a hindquarter over my shoulder and act as if it wasn’t any struggle at all. For those of you unfamiliar with the weight of a typical quarter of beef, it is about 300 pounds. Daddy would always smile at my effort while he approached and say, “Need a hand?” I did, even though I might not want to admit it. He’d easily grab it off my shoulder and easily position it on the butcher block for the initial cuts to be made before going to the saw for final cuts.

 

Look at our reading today once more: I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken (v. 8). I cannot remember a time when I was alone in the meat market. It was never a matter of trust. Dad had taught me everything about butchering. He simply wanted to make sure I was never forced to lift the heavy loads alone. God is like that. The psalmist is saying he is never alone. God is ever ready with his strong right hand to help us with our burden. I’m not sure what you “load” is today; however, I am certain that you don’t need to bear your burden alone. Are you strong enough to shoulder the burden without help some of the time… sure. But, the question is, why would you want to? He delights in helping His children, just like my Dad did for me. I didn’t need to impress him with my “strength,” nor do we need to do so with God!