Good Things

Psalm 84:11

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory—no good thing will He withhold to those who walk uprightly.

The Life of the Upright

This is a promise with a condition.  If I walk uprightly, He doesn’t withhold anything good from me.  What I think would be good and what He thinks is good are often two different things!  But He’s always right, so I try to always let Him pick for me.

What does it mean to walk uprightly?  The word translated “uprightly” here means complete, sound, healthfully.  Walking uprightly means to live a life that is godly: sound faith, strong enough to stand against life’s tough stuff.    

People sometimes get confused about what faith is about.  Some people would identify having faith with going to church and doing “Christian” activities.  I think it’s more than that.  You can talk the lingo, but that doesn’t make you a Christian.  You can go to church, but that doesn’t make you a Christian.  You can obey the authorities, pay your bills, vote Republican, and keep your house clean (it’s not really next to godliness, but it is more pleasant than keeping it a pigsty!) but these don’t make you ready for heaven.  Being nice and being clean aren’t prerequisites.  Being godly means you’re God’s.  Peter says that Jesus paid the price for us:

Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter 1:18-19.)

God says of His people, “I have called you by name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1.)  We are His because He bought us with the blood of Jesus on the cross.  Before that, we belonged to the devil—our father Adam sold us into slavery unwittingly when he chose to eat the forbidden fruit in the garden.  But now we’ve been redeemed from our “aimless way of life,” and have the opportunity to live for God.

What defines you as God’s?  If you belong to Christ, if you desire the things of God; you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead; and have asked Him to be Savior and Lord of your life and really meant it; if you have experienced the peace with God and the Spirit of God guiding and directing you; if you believe He is coming again, and have the hope of heaven, you are God’s. 

If you have never gone to church, never read the Bible, never been baptized, and never prayed in public, you can still be a Christian.  You may not be a very rich (spiritually) Christian, but you are still a Christian.  The criminal that hung next to Jesus never did any of those things, yet Jesus said to him, “Today you shall be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43.)

Good Things

This scripture reminds me of times in my life when I had a need for something “good.”  I thought of this scripture when I needed a car—we’d been driving my brother-in-law’s old truck, but when the engine began to act up and spit and sputter, and I had to nurse it home from work one day, we took it to the mechanic and spent $600 dollars in vain.  It would cost more than I was willing to spend to get that truck in good working condition.  My husband wasn’t a “handy” guy.  As far as we were concerned, it was a lost cause.  So I started looking into buying another car.

I had never purchased a car from a dealer before, and was a little worried that I might not qualify for a loan, but I spent some time before the Lord in prayer, and He directed me to this verse.  I decided that He was making me a promise, and held on to it with all my heart—nothing good would be withheld. 

As it turned out, I found “the car” and had no problem getting the loan.  I had that car for about five years, and sold it to a good friend who will probably drive it for another five years.  It’s a good thing.  (I even named her “Buena Cosa” which is Spanish for “good thing.”)

Jesus talked about our earthly fathers—that they know how to give us good gifts.  Here’s the scripture:

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Luke 11:13.)

How much more will God give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.  Didn’t think to ask for that, did you?  Didn’t know you could! 

We ask for much, don’t we?  But sometimes we don’t get what we ask for.  Sometimes we ask for the wrong reasons, from the wrong motive.

You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures (James 4:3.)

I need to be sure I’m asking Him for what is good, truly good, for me.  I need to make sure I’m asking for what is healthy for me, especially spiritually.  I’ve got to stop asking for things that are going to make my relationship with Him more difficult—things that would hinder, not help.  And not just ask for “stuff.”  (He’s not Santa, after all!) 

I want to remember to ask Him for others to come into the Kingdom.  I want to ask for healing for my neighbor.  I want to ask for an extra measure of the Spirit so I can live a godly life.  I want to ask for wisdom and for more love for others.  These are prayers God runs to answer!  These are the “goods” I really want!

Dear Abba,

You are so good to give me what is best for me.  Thank you that You give me of Your Holy Spirit, so that I can choose what is good.

Help me to look to You first to see what You want for me.  Lord, You always pick what’s best. 

Love,

Donna