All Signs Point To Jesus

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

   With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

   my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

   nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life;

   you will fill me with joy in your presence,

   with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

- Psalm 16:8-11

David writes Psalm 16 as a man with many struggles who maintains a persevering faith in God. In verses 8-11, whether he knew it at the time or not, David makes a powerful connection and foreshadowing to the life of Christ, the ultimate King who would come from David’s bloodline.

In Acts 2, Peter quotes Psalm 16:8-11 and asserts that the “faithful” or “holy one” who will not see decay that David describes is really foreshadowing Christ, who will endure pain and suffering, but will never truly see decay because of the resurrection. After quoting the above verses, Peter says the following:

29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

- Acts 2:29-33

David’s faith is admirable, but it doesn’t matter without the resurrection of Jesus Christ. David’s body did eventually succumb to the death of our world, but as Psalm 16 tells us, God would not let his faithful and holy one, Jesus, see decay. It is because Jesus overcame death that we are able to fully experience “joy in (God’s) presence” and “eternal pleasures at (His) right hand.”

When I realized the connection between Psalm 16 and Acts 2, I fell even more in love with these powerful words from David because it was yet another reminder of the perfect story that God is so masterfully writing. There are no mistakes.

The author of all things is intentional and specific, even to the point of placing arrows towards Jesus in the prayers of his predecessor 1000 years prior to Christ’s birth. In one of David’s deepest struggles, his prayer pointed to Jesus. Surely God can do the same for us in the good and bad of our lives.

Our God intentionally weaves together David’s story and Peter’s story and your story and my story to point towards Jesus. And ultimately, any of our stories matter only because of the story of Jesus Christ. I hope you feel the weight of that today. Every part of your story matters because God wants to use each and every moment as an opportunity to lead everyone back to the cross. And your story isn’t over because Jesus’ isn’t either.

In a recent prayer to God about a struggle I was experiencing, I whispered to Him, “If you can use it, it’s worth it.” Oh friend, that’s not an easy prayer to pray. It’s not one that I always have the strength to pray. But when we do, God meets us with complete confidence in this promise: “I will use it all, dear one. I will use it all for my glory. And in the end, we will be together in blissful eternity.”

Let’s be thankful for that today. That it isn’t all for nothing. That our suffering and our triumphs are each a chance to give more glory to God.

And let’s be thankful for the work of the cross - because of Jesus there is more for each and every one of us. Amen.

Cristina Schmitter

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