Sunday, 13 September 2020 Psalm 37:23-40
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way” -Psalm 37:23
How often we wonder if God is really pleased with our Christian walk. What must we do that will delight our Saviour? This Psalm talks about how God directs a ‘GOOD’ MAN’S life.
If someone asks us if we are good, we will be prompt to reply ‘YES.’ Let’s look into today’s Scripture portion and learn a few lessons that will help us understand if we are truly ‘GOOD’ according to God’s standard; if not let’s make every effort to earn that title from the Lord.
Here is an acrostic for the word GOOD according to Psalm 37.
G-enerous- ‘He is always generous’ [V. 26]. The emphasis is on the word “always.” It is not a onetime affair. Generosity is his second nature. He has a large heart to give without holding back. The greatest act of generosity is seen in God the Father, when he gave us His one and only Son. We see the Son withholding nothing back when he offered himself as a sacrifice for us (Eph. 5:2). It was his deep love for us that caused him to be so generous. Today He is calling us in his love to not only share our material blessings with others but to step higher and be generous in showing unconditional love and mercy to those who don’t deserve it. When was the last time you were generous to forgive someone who has wronged you just as Christ forgave you?
O-pens his mouth to speak words of wisdom and justice [V.30] James in his epistle says that a man who has control over what he says is a perfect man. So if you and I need to be considered as “GOOD" in the eyes of God we must learn to harness our tongues and not use it to say foul and offensive language, but rather encouraging words that would be good and helpful to the hearers (Eph. 4:29). Our tongues can be used as instruments of healing or destruction. If so, do people around us experience God’s grace through our speech?
O-beys God’s Word with all his heart [V. 31] A man walking with the Lord will never step outside the Word of God. Obeying God’s Word is his foremost priority. Jesus himself obeyed God’s Word when he walked on earth (John 15:10). In Old Testament times the Law given to them was written on tablets of stone. Today Jesus has established a New Covenant with us by which His law is put into our minds and written on our hearts (Heb. 8:10) thus enabling us to live by the living word of God. If we claim that God’s word is written in our hearts how quick are we to obey it?
D-eparts from evil and does good- [V. 27] Right through the Bible we read of “men of God” who did just this and so had to face various repercussions. Be it Noah, Joseph, Elijah or Daniel in the Old Testament times, Peter, James ,John or Paul in the New Testament times and coming to the 20th century-be it Jim Elliot, Graham Staines, John Scott or Amy Carmichael - all kept away from evil and did everything in their strength to do good, for which they had to face hostility. They were put in prisons, persecuted, fed to the lions and burnt to death. Are we taking such radical steps like our forefathers resisting sin in our lives to save lives?
Then and only then, can we hear God call us ‘GOOD’, delight in us [V. 3] make our steps firm [V.31] and uphold us with His hand [ V. 24].
Quote of the day: “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” -Amos 3:3
Listen: ‘Help me find it’