Thursday, September 1, 2016
Because we still get influenced more than we should by our old nature, we sometimes get the feeling that all our hard work and our efforts to do right are all for naught. Not so! Reading in Psalm 37 yesterday, I was reminded that, in Christ, working hard and doing right will have it’s rewards both here and in eternity. Throughout the years, I have heard many Christians cite Psalm 37:4 and while it is an encouraging promise in itself, to me it is even more so when it is coupled with the previous verse. This is what they say together: “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
And because it is quite easy to do so, two small but very important and crucial words are often overlooked and passed over too quickly. I am referring to the words “do good.” Though it is a simple word of instruction, it is an essential one. To me it is important for the very fact that we, in our human nature, tend to get discouraged or disillusioned when we go through lapses where we don’t see any fruit or results, even after we know we did everything we possibly could, in order to have success. I believe this word of advice is the Old Testament equivalent of Paul’s statement in Galatians 6:9 that says: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
My dear fellow believer, if you are going through a dry spell and suffering with a case of the blahs, don’t let what you see, hear, or even what you have been reasoning, influence you. Trust in the Lord! If He says that in due season you’ll reap the rewards, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Keep on doing good and working hard. Delight yourself in doing so. More exactly, take delight in it because you are doing it for the Lord. Soon you’ll see the results.
God’s promise for today: (James 1:12) “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
