BE SIDES

I have a good buddy that lives out west now. He is a guy that struggled for much of his life with addiction and sell esteem issues. His journey on this earth was filled with constant turmoil. No matter where he turned in life, he surrounded himself with questionable people. He thought they were friends who would walk beside him and have his back so to speak.


Well they did have his back as long as he was supplying them with drugs. They really were not friends, just users: in more than one way. To deal with his despair he turned to drugs because as long as they were by his side he wouldn't have to think about the so called friends that were abandoning him. The further he went the more desperate he became. He tried to fill that with buying lots of expensive things but that let him down too.


Finally after messing up and messing up he found himself in prison for a long time. It was during his time in prison that he discovered this truth. It is a truth we all need to discover in life. It is found in the second part of Psalm 16:2, "I have no good beside you" These words were penned by King David. Here is what God spoke to me about as I meditated on His Word.


Psalm 16:2 "I have no good beside you"


It is powerful to be in a relationship with the creator of everything.


How much value to I put on things? Is what I have in possessions that determines my worth? David who had everything at his disposal understood that he had absolutely nothing of great value except his relationship with God. Maybe that is why he would dance naked before God. It was just God and Him and that relationship that had real value.


David starts this portion of scripture with the word "I". Whenever I start to say something and I begin it with the word I, it means I believe in or stand behind what I am about to say. If I say I believe in this product, I am endorsing it. If I don't believe in something I am not going to attach my name to it.


David could have said "they" have no good besides you which would show he was talking about others issues. It is always easier to talk about others issues, right? He could have said "you", if he didn't believe it himself. Thats not what he said though, he said "I"


Then he uses the word "have", which represents the present tense. He is making an action statement, think again of all the things King David has: position, money, fame, investments, people at his whim, nice clothes, all the latest stuff. Yet he says all of this compared to having God is NOTHING. It is no good!


It reminds me of Ecclesiastes 2:10 where Solomon, the wisest and richest man who ever lived said, "all that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor." Then he says "it was all in vanity."


What is it that we have tried to put beside us to make us feel good, only to see that without God it is meaningless?


There are many things in life that are "no good" for us. They consume us and take our focus off of God. Maybe it is how we use our time. Do you and I ever stop to consider how we use our time? Do we ever look back at the end off the day and see that what we spent much of our time on was "no good". What about our money, are we investing in good things or God things? David realizes even though he has it all that it was meaningless without a close relationship with God.


The word beside is a compound word. BE and SIDE, BE/SIDE. I want BE by my side! I want Jesus to be near me in all I do. He has promised to be near to me. I choose whether I want to be close to Him. I want Him more than anything in my life!


King David finally declares who he knows is the absolute best for him. It is You! It is God! Are we walking BEside You? We need to be sure not to put our possessions, our money our investments, other people, the latest gadgets between us and God! That way we can agree with King David and declare, "I have no good beside you."