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At His Right Hand

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 16:9-11)

            I don’t understand the logic of the phrase “right hand” in general. Often, it’s suggested that one’s trusted ally sits at one’s right hand, while one’s beloved sits at one’s left (closer to their heart?). But since most people are right handed, they are more capable of defending what is at their right hand, while they are more vulnerable to the left. Still, it is the customary usage and it would only confuse things to start playing with positions to make them make sense. I will note, however, that if I am at God’s right hand,  does that mean He trusts me? More importantly, that puts God at my left hand - the place of the beloved but also the place where I am weakest and least able to defend myself.

            The rest of the passage speaks wonderfully to my inner drama queen. Queen? Empress! What’s more than that? The tiniest upset and I think I have to start my life over from scratch. “Hi, I’m Karen. What’s your name?” But God will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, whether the physically dead, the spiritually dead, or the death in my imagination.

            God won’t let me see decay. What I’m facing, no matter how overwhelming isn’t the end of the story. It might be a cliffhanger, but not the end. He’ll make sure I end up on the right roads. I won’t miss an exit, though He might take me on a scenic route instead of the way I want.

            

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