The Lord gives grace
and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk
uprightly. O Lord of
hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in
You! Psalm 84:11
Brothers,
Sisters and all whose steps are established by the LORD,
Brothers, Sisters and all whose steps are established by the LORD,
We are told to wait on the LORD and how to wait. Patiently. As we wait God is working in us the likeness of His Son Jesus! Time waiting on God is never wasted time. There is truth reflected in our waiting. To wait in rest on our God is to trust Him by faith. He delights in the one who gives Him freedom to ‘establish his steps.’
Another scripture that blessed my socks off this week is found in the Psalms also. I have read this many times but I did not connect verse11 with 12 until I saw this connect.
Question: What comes to mind when you read verse 11? Many like to use this to ‘name it and claim it in prayer’, even if God has not promised them what they imagine. They are empowered by their own fleshly desires to do’ or ‘to have’ or ‘to be’. This verse covers their ‘want’. They justify this by defining what the key word ‘good’ means. They may long to be married and good is defined as; God bringing a husband or a wife that fits their list perfectly! To another it may be to be happy, or healed from disease, or buy a new car or change jobs. Their focus is on a thing or a person or a situation. But this results in many disappointed saints who then feel God has let them down.
Wake
up church… let God decide what is good to put in your life and stop leaning to
your own understanding! A thing may be good in itself, yet not good for you to
have, so God withholds it according to His plan. There are lessons of God’s
Sovereignty to be learned until we let go of that last breath here on earth.
There have been many things I have asked of God and He has withheld them from
me. I truly believe it is because they would not have been good for me to have
at that time no matter how I yearned or prayed for it to come about.
Our Father often encourages the weak in faith by giving speedy
answers to prayer; but the strong in faith will be further developed by God’s
delays. ms
See
it as an opportunity to die and to prove Him faithful?
Do
not over look the condition preceding the promise and do not overlook the
promise following the condition. This got my heart beating praise. The
condition is we are to walk in righteousness, positioning ourselves for
blessing. The Psalm states unequivocally, that the man who trusts in his heavenly
Father, to decide what to give and what to withhold, will be greatly blessed. Blessed
means happy. Are you willing to trust Him, not only for all He gives, but also
and more importantly, for all He withholds? He promises grace for either.
And
even further are you able, willing to trust Him for what He takes away?
A
young girl’s heart desire was to have a dog. She prayed for a dog that was free,
potty trained, and non-allergic. And in God’s wonderful way He gave her a wonderful,
small dog named Dallas whom she loved fiercely. This past week God took her
doggie. Dallas just couldn’t overcome his health problems. With heart rending
emotions, she let Dallas go, freeing him from pain. She chose to trust God and
not give into her feelings. She gave no complaint, no resentment. She journaled
this quote from Job,
‘The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be
the name of the Lord.’ Job 1:21
She
knows God’s ways are perfect and that He never makes a mistake. No one has ever
heard God say “Oooops! She chose to trust Him to make the perfect decision
about what was good to give her or what was good to take away. She refused to be offended by what God allowed. (Matt 11:6) Her tears will bring
healing in time and thoughts of Dallas will be more than good memories, they’ll
be treasured memories. She believes God is good…. He cannot be anything but
good, for it is WHO He is. This young teenager was embracing God’s Sovereignty.
God took me a step further…
this is so exciting! God describes Himself as ‘good’ in scripture. He refers to
His character qualities as good. His creation as good. And Himself is the good
Shepherd. He said, no good thing
will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. When we walk uprightly, by
faith, the good He gives us is Himself! He quenches our thirst to know Him and
it is good. In John 14:21 He said,
‘He
who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who
loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose (give) Myself to him.’ He gives us Himself through
the word, by His Spirit. He gives understanding that allows us to draw near and
drink deeply of Jesus.
He will
reveal more and more of who He is to those with a hungry heart, who walks
uprightly. Let this promise sink in and warm you from heart to toes. Dance in
joy. Raise your hands, sing and shout His praise! Kneel and worship with
thanksgiving.
They shall eagerly
utter the memory of Your abundant goodness, Psalm 145:7
How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You. Psalm
31:19
Father all
wise, forever good, You who love us beyond words to describe and wrap every
test and trial in your loving kindness, Thank You there is no one like You! You
are God and You are good. Teach us to trust You implicitly for what You give
and what You take away, knowing You never make a mistake, only You see all our
tomorrows. You are so precious Lord. You are the ‘Good” you give all the time. Thank You for the
greatest gift of all, Jesus our Savior, Substitute, and sacrifice for our sins.
In His name I pray, Thank You.
Blessings to my Sisters and Brothers who are immeasurably loved by Jesus,
az
