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1 Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” 3 I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” 4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. 5 LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. 7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. 11 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 NIV)
A blessed and rich Friday be yours, dear Friend. Our brother, Mr. Kevin Pirkle, underwent a successful surgery and is in the hospital for a few days to recover before entering a rehab center. His wife, Haley, is home recovering and son Addison is in Respite Care Center this morning for 2 weeks to allow Mom and Dad to recover fully. A late notice I received is from Bishop Joel Martinez of San Antonio, that his wife, Dr. Raquel Mora Martinez, has been receiving cancer treatments but today entered Hospice care at home. Please be in prayer for Dr. Martinez and Bishop Martinez as well as for his family during this difficult time. May God bless you with your prayers being answered as well. I am pleased to report that I feel much better today and pray that I will be preaching Sunday at Pilgrim Presbyterian Church.
I have somewhere in our possession, a red sports bag that is filled with maps, atlases, and travel journals. Yes, I am that old. And I have been a member of the American Automobile Association (AAA). Membership entitled me, back in the good ole days, to access in their offices, all the above mentioned. To plan our vacations we would acquire the maps and sometimes a journal that AAA would make for up, which were like several pages of maps highlighted with yellow detailing the route from our home to our destination. This was more accessible than a huge open map spread across the front seat of our car. Yes, the old days when the front seat was a huge bench allowing for two-headed monster to do-drive it. (Kids, ask your grandparents about the "two-headed monsters). I would drive and Nellie would co-pilot. "You're going to have to turn in three miles to the right on Highway 61." Ah, the memories. Now, your vehicles tells in the voice you select, the directions leading you to your destination.
This is a psalm that serves as a guide map that affirms several things. Psalm 16 is David’s song of confidence—an unshakable trust that God will not abandon him, even in death. During the Easter season, this psalm takes on deeper color. What David could only see in shadows, Christ fulfilled in full daylight.
David rejoices that God is his refuge, his portion, his inheritance. He knows that life with God is secure. But then he says something astonishing: God “will not abandon me to the realm of the dead.” For David, this was a hope. For Jesus, it became history.
The early church read Psalm 16 as a prophecy pointing straight to the resurrection. Jesus is the Holy One who did not see decay. Because He rose, the promise of Psalm 16 becomes ours too:
In this Psalm God has provided a map that shows us the path of life, not a dead end. Easter is about taking the road of faith that leads us to life, not death.
The psalmist also shows us that in Christ we can find a joy that suffering cannot erase. A living joy that rises above the pain that death brings, a pain of deadly suffering.
We have in this Psalm a future that death cannot steal. For too long death meant a dead end with no hope beyond the grief that it brought with it. Jesus shows us a new road filled with a living hope and nothing death brings with it can defeat it. Jesus spoke of this in John 10:10, He had come to bring life and life in abundance (all the "trimming") with it; unlike what Satan sought; steal, kill, and destroy.
Easter means the grave is no longer a destination—it’s a doorway. The God who kept His promise to Jesus will keep His promise to you. The risen Christ stands as proof that God’s goodness is not fragile, temporary, or uncertain. It is eternal, abundant, and unstoppable.
Psalm 16 invites us to rest in that truth. To say with David: “Lord, you are my portion.” To trust that the One who conquered death can carry us through anything.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, risen Savior, thank You for the victory of Easter. Thank You that in You we have a path of life, a refuge in every storm, and a joy that death cannot touch. Teach us to trust You the way David trusted You—to rest in Your goodness, to walk in Your presence, and to live with resurrection hope. Fill our hearts with the confidence that You are with us now and forever. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Take one moment today to thank God for one specific way His resurrection hope is shaping your life right now. Let that gratitude guide your next step forward.
I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to God and you matter to me.
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
