46: Five Promises
I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.
MY FATHER RECENTLY PASSED AWAY. Just before he died, he gave me his Bible, which I had given to him as a gift some thirty years ago. There is hardly a page that isn’t marked in some manner.
Psalm 37:25 is heavily underlined. It’s almost as if he had to mark it again each time he read it. This verse was one of many promises that my father lived by. The verse was certainly proven accurate in his ninety-two years. Dad often quoted it to me.
Every so often I’ll read one of the psalms that Dad loved. I guess I’ll need to read all 150, because he has marked nearly all of them.
Recently, five promises impacted me from Psalm 37.
- 37:28 —He will never desert us. We will be kept forever in His faithful care.
- 37:29 —We will inherit the earth. This tells me that this earth will have a new future, and we will have ownership in it.
- 37:30 —We make the best counselors. Of course, this depends on how well we listen to the Holy Spirit. When we listen well, our words possess wisdom and those we counsel will benefit.
- 37:31 —We don’t need to be anxious about the future. With the Word of God in our hearts, we won’t slip.
- 37:37 —We will have peace and a bright future. We can look forward with hope.
This week, read through Psalm 37. When you get to verse 25, underline it; you may also want to underline verses 28, 29, 30, 31, and 37.
There’s a request from God in this psalm in verse 34. He asks us to keep His ways as we wait on Him. When we do this, He will bring blessing to us.
If you’ve failed in the past and it still entangles your thinking, take a step forward.
If you’ve sinned and not confessed it, simply give it to Jesus and take a step forward.
If you’re facing a decision that could be life impacting, tell Jesus and take a step forward.
If life is fantastic, take a step forward.
Questions
- Which promise from Psalm 37 do you find particularly meaningful?
- How has God kept His promises in your life? Be specific.
- Where do you need to take a step forward in your life?
- If life is great at the moment, how can you come alongside someone else to encourage him or her to step forward in the confidence of God’s promises?