Thursday 7 May, 2015

1 Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. 2 Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever. 4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous. 5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. 6 Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. 7 They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. 8 Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. 9 They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever; their horn[c] will be lifted high in honor. 10 The wicked will see and be vexed, they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

God doesn’t call us to be righteous out of some mean-spirited desire to rob us of good things… God calls us to be righteous because it is the best possible life, a life of abundance and joy.

We see in this psalm that our part is to put God first, to fear Him and delight in His commands, to live like our father and be gracious, compassionate, righteous, generous, fair and take care of the poor. God promises that as we do so our descendants will be blessed, our material needs will be taken care of, that we will never be shaken, we will be remembered, we will not fear bad news, we will look in triumph on that which opposes us, and we will live victoriously.

It is not the promise of a trouble free life, it says that light shines in the darkness for the righteous – so there will be the experience of darkness. And the fact that the righteous person does not fear bad news does not mean that there will not be bad news in the first place. The hope is in God, above the circumstances, for the righteous person trusts in God.

Lord, please help me to walk with this glorious vision before me, to remember that you call me to righteousness because it is the best possible life for me and those around me. Help me to walk not out of a place of fear of failure, but help me stir faith, that in my weakness your strength is made perfect. Help me to believe that you are more than willing to help me choose righteousness. God, please work in my heart that I may be transformed from the inside out. Amen

Written by Beth Waugh