Psalm 16
Everyone wants to know what heaven will be like and there are endless answers to that. Personally, the harpist on a cloud is about as absurd as it gets. What do you think? There are as many different viewpoints of heaven as there are people and those ideas can color one’s excitement of it. What we believe is often what we see, so I would have to ask you, are you excited when thinking about heaven? That answer shows how you see God and what comes out of that. Our experiences are often driven by what we think – what we believe. King David thought the same thing.
Because of God’s goodness, David says, he can see things clearly. In this Psalm, David shares of his confidence in God and how that led to wonderful adventures. His poetry is designed to help us see how important our view of God is to our experiences in life. Correct confidence in God will lead to incredible experience with Him.
Belief Influences Behavior
There has long been debate in scientific circles on whether it is knowledge that influences behavior or behavior that influences knowledge. While secular science can continue to go back and forth, Romans 12:2 makes a clear statement that knowledge (or belief) is what drives transformation (change of behavior). Paul also shows this by the fact that numerous of his letters (Romans and Ephesians, for example) are written in a belief/action format that shows what we believe must come first, then the actions thereof will follow suit. David agrees with this as well and the format of this Psalm is the proof.
This passage gives us a repetitive rhythm that emphasizes the premise that confidence leads experience. In verses 1-4, David expounds on his belief in God’s goodness and the vision given to David to see the good and the bad people out there. As a result, David’s experience is to see his situation as a full cup. Simply scanning through the books of Samuel, there is no doubt that David struggled through difficulty after difficulty and dealt with many that would try to deceive him. One story (2 Sam 1) shows that there was a guy who tried to profit off of Saul’s death by lying about it to David, yet David was able to see right through that and perceive the evil in that man. David was surrounded by hardship and evil and difficulty (consider his sons Amnon and Absalom), yet his view of that is to see (v6) that the lines have fallen for him in pleasant places.
Many people would have experienced David’s life as a warzone, wrought with frustrations and impossible odds and would understandably interpret those experiences as a negative life instead of David’s view, which is positive. What we believe colors what we experience.
Proper Beliefs are Vital to Spiritual Health
This is why it is so important to know what we believe as a foundation to our faith and action. There was a wave of movie trailers put out with different background music to change their tone. Take a look at the Shining as an example. Can you imagine watching a trailer that promotes The Shining as a romantic comedy? How might that have affected your perception of the movie or book itself? That would have been significantly confusing and frustrating. If we are trying to follow a God, yet our view of Him is as an angry sheriff looking to find and call us out on our mistakes, there is no hope of us looking to Him for our comfort and needs. In the same way, how did you see your parents? Was one the person you went to for help and the other the one you showed off to? How you saw them colored how you interacted with them.
In the second rhythm section, David speaks of His trust in God’s providence and leadership. God is always there and available to David, and as a result, no matter what he faces, he is secure and full of joy. And v10 holds a powerful key – that verse is used by both Peter and Paul in their sermons in Acts to show that Jesus, though ascended to heaven is as alive as we are – no corruption is referring to no death decay – so, because Jesus is as alive as you and me today, we can trust in His forgiveness. He defeated death! David, in his prophetic statement is proclaiming the exact same thing – because God is a resurrecting God, we have hope. Right belief is everything!
Next Steps
This is how we gain confidence in God – trusting the right things about Him and letting ourselves see our experiences through that lens. Correct confidence in God will lead to incredible experience with Him. It may not be easy, but it will be beautiful. Try these ideas:
- Craft a vision statement for yourself that describes a fully Christ-confident version of you
- Submit to train in study so that you ensure Right beliefs
- Pray and offer God an opening to work more of Himself into your life
Our view of God leads to our experience with Him now, which will color our experience in heaven. Don’t let wrong beliefs mess with your eternal experiences. Instead, seek correct confidence in God and trust His framework (lens) for your life.
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