February 4 – Home Forever

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” -  Psalm 23:6 (ESV)

Such protection, provision and love from God was what brought David to realize that the Lord’s good loyal love would go with him everywhere through all his life. God’s blessings on us, His people, remain on us no matter what the circumstances are in our lives. When we need substance he gives food and water…good calm water. He restores us when we are overspent. He makes sure we know the right path. If the path gets dark and scary we need not fear because He is there with us. And then, God spreads a banquet for us right in front of those who hate us. We are refreshed with anointing oil. All this goodness comes from God, from His promises. When times are up or down, in the darkest night or brightest day God has our back, and front, and both sides. He watches over us with His goodness and His mercy. Our reservation in God’s house is promised and secure. The 'house' is the presence of God, wherever we meet Him and worship. Not a specific building. “I will dwell, there” is our way of saying we’ll be frequently with God returning often to worship Him.  

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August 3 – Endless Supply Stored Up

“How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, Before the sons of men!”  Psalm 31:19 (NASB)

When we read and consider words like “stored up” we think of some large storehouses or warehouses we have seen. Whether they are in a port on water by the sea or bay or perhaps deep in the city or town.  We think of rows and rows of shelves piled high from floor to ceiling with things waiting there to be shipped or freighted out when needed. And we are encouraged to think of God's love and His goodness as being so great enough to more than fill up these storehouses.  Yes, God is good and He is ready to demonstrate His goodness in so many different ways. His supply is perfect, just what we will need, and it has been promised to us as we need it and as we call on Him for it.  Let's be sure that we never doubt His goodness. He is waiting for us to open ourselves to benefit from His goodness. He has stored up an endless supply of goodness for us. Receive that goodness  from Him today by finding your refuge in God.

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April 16 – Waiting With a Heart of Courage

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!  Wait for the Lord;  be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”  Psalm 27:13-14  (ESV)

We can have the same confidence and believe the same way that David did when he wrote this song.  We are serving the same Lord and He is as good to us as He was to David.  He watched over His people in those days and He watches over us who are living today.  Therefore we can have this same confidence in His care for each of us today.  We may not see immediately or quickly the answer to our prayers for help and we may need to look forward for the Lord to act in His perfect time.  These are the times when we may need to wait for the Lord to demonstrate His goodness and His love. Having confidence and believing in His will is a part of living by faith and living that way is what God is looking for in our lives.  God will never fail us.  We can always expect Him to demonstrate His love and concern for us.  

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March 16 – Waiting With Confidence

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”   Psalm 27:13-14 (NIV)

Not very often do we find ourselves eager to wait for anything.  Where ever we go and whatever we do, we want to be in the fast moving line, we want to get it done and be finished with it.  Our verse today tells us of a different way – it tells us that waiting can be good if we are waiting on God's promises to be fulfilled.  These words are an expression of faith in our Lord.  The psalmist expressed his confidence in the goodness of the Lord and we can do the same. God has been good to us as we have been living for Him and we can be sure that, as we trust Him, He will show us His goodness from day to day.  Then we read in the second verse that because of this confidence we can wait for the Lord to act because He has promised us that He will show us His love and His goodness. Waiting for God to act is a part of our faith in Him and His Words of Promise.  It is by waiting we learn to truly trust Him.  We also can be confident of this: God will show us His goodness as we take heart and strength from Him in our waiting in faith believing His word. 

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August 24 – He Knows, He Feels, He Loves

“I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. … In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”   Isaiah 63: 7, 9 (ESV)

We are again looking at the writings of Isaiah for a special message for our encouragement today.  In verse 7, Isaiah tells of how the Lord God  had been kind to His people Israel.  Note that it was according to God's compassion and according to the abundance of his steadfast love.  When supply of anything is according to and not out of, the supply is unending – it will never cease.  Then, in verse 9 the prophet makes a remarkable statement.  We need to remember that God  is not way up there and far away from His people.  And as He was with His people in the time of Isaiah, He is with us, today.  He knows our struggles, how we are feeling and He feels with us.  When we need it, He will carry us through whatever challenges we are facing.  The prophet said this was according of His lovingkindness and we can trust the promise that His love continues for us to this day.  

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June 30 – Rest and Trust

“Return to your rest, O my soul, For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.” Psalm 116:7 (NASB)

Do you ever talk to yourself? Most people do and when we read in the Psalms in our Bible we realize that the writers must have done that quite often. One example is our verse today where the psalmist acknowledges the fulfillment God has made of His promise.  It is profitable for all of us to stop and think of how good the Lord has been to us.  The psalmist had evidently met some situation that was disturbing to his mind and heart. Then he began to think of how God had shown His love and His goodness previously in his life.  That brought him back to a place of rest.  If you have been a believer for some time you can very likely remember occasions when God showed His goodness to you. Even new believers can recognize God's work in their lives. Keep occasions like that in mind when your soul becomes restless or disturbed for some reason. It will help you to rest and trust the Lord to see you through again.  And, don't be afraid to talk to yourselves and remind yourself of God's promises. It's a good reason to tuck a few verses away in our memories – verses that contain promises from God. 

June 26 – Stored and Supplied

“How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, Before the sons of men!” Psalm 31:19 (NASB)

In is not unusual to consider that the part of the Bible we draw many of the promises is the Song Book of the Bible – The Book of Psalms.  Even though there has been much change in the world since the Psalms were written, we can know this for certain, God's promises have not changed and the needs of people's hearts haven't changed either.  In today's verse from Psalm 31 we see two pictures. The idea of a storehouse or the act of storing up good things for those who are in awe and worship God.  We are reminded that God's goodness is ever ready, and His supply never exhausted, and he makes it available in large quantities so that we receive all we are promised. All that we need and more. The second visual is that of a place of supply in the middle of calamity and danger from others.  This is a picture of God actually handing out his goodness – he dispenses (wrought, bestows) what He has stored.  God goodness is not just safely stored away, it is put to use and it was created by God for Him to give to those who come to him for refuge and safety.  It is there for us, promised and stored up. 

November 29 – Be Satisfied

“Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!” Psalm 65:4b (ESV) 

When David the psalmist wrote these words of praise to God, he was thinking of the blessings which comes to God's people as they worshiped in the place which was called God's house - the Tabernacle and later the Temple. We can apply these words to our experience of belonging to God's family today. We are members of God's household and we experience many good things because of it. As our verse says we are satisfied with the goodness God provides. We need to remember each day that we belong to God's family. He is our heavenly Father and He takes care of us as we live here on earth. If we open our hearts to Him to fill us we will be filled each day with His blessings. Then we can say as the psalmist said, we shall be satisfied. 

August 3 – Endless Supply Stored Up

“How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, Before the sons of men!”  Psalm 31:19 (NASB)

When we read and consider words like these we think of some large storehouses or warehouses we have seen. We think of rows and rows of shelves piled high from floor to ceiling with things waiting there to be brought out when needed. And we are encouraged to think of God's love and His goodness as being so great.  Yes, God is good and He is ready to demonstrate His goodness in so many different ways. Let's be sure that we never doubt His goodness. He is waiting for us to open ourselves to benefit from His goodness. He has stored up an endless supply of goodness for us. Receive that goodness  from Him today by finding refuge in God.

May 26 – Abundance Stored Up

“How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.”  Psalm 31:19 (NIV)

We are blessed  to think of our God as being a good God and this verse reminds us that His goodness is abundant. The psalmist tells us that the abundance of good things have been stored up for us if we fear God. Think of some of the very large storerooms we have seen. God's storehouses are for us and they are not hidden. God has placed this abundance in the sight of all – it is a storehouse of enough goodness and love to take care of all who come to God and accept His invitation. This is God's promise to us, that if we fear – respect and worship – Him, we have access to this abundant goodness. When we read that it is for those who fear Him, we understand that means those who have true respect and awe for God. Today, let's praise our God for creating this storehouse of abundant good things and we can find refuge in Him.

May 18 – Supplying Everything We Need

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

How true it is that God called us by His goodness. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior God gives us a new life but that is only the beginning of a wonderful process initiated by Him. It was not our idea, it was His. Our promise today is much like the promise we had in yesterday's reading. It is essential to understand this promise. Having called us and having brought us into His family our heavenly Father continues to enable us to fit into his family. Our verse tells us that God gives us everything we need for life and godliness. God wants us to be godly, to be like Him but He does not leave us to work at it by ourselves. He promises to supply the ability to live in a godly way and He'll do that today. Let's allow Him to do that each day and every hour of each day.

February 20 - Everything We Need

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

This verse reminds us how much our God is involved in our Christian lives. It reminds in the last words of the verse that it was God who called us into His family.  It was by His own glory and His goodness that He called us. Let us thank Him today for His goodness and His love in calling us to Himself. Then after we respond to God’s call and we become His, our Lord provides what we need. Our verse reminds us that God gives us what we need to live the way He wants us to live. He will help us today to live godly lives because His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through what we know of Him.

November 17

“For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts!” Psalm 92:4-5 (NIV)

I have read these verses especially because of the words where the psalmist is worshipping God for His thoughts. He says, “how profound your thoughts?” What was it that made him marvel at the depth of God’s thoughts?  In his first words he was happy about what God was doing. He found God’s works to be great and wonderful and it gave him joy. Sometimes we are tempted to ask why God should allow something to happen in our lives. We cannot understand and we question His goodness. How much better to trust His goodness and know the His thoughts, though deep are wonderful. We trust Him. 

November 9

“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” Psalm 50:14-15 (NIV)

In Old Testament days God’s people could show their gratitude to Him by bringing thank offerings. These offerings were not burned on the altar but eaten by the offeror and his family. This meal was to honor God for His goodness, and they experienced His closeness. This is what the palmist had in mind as he wrote this promise into the psalm we are looking at today. We honor God when we thank Him for delivering us from trouble.  The promise is clear. When we call upon the Lord to bring us through a dark hour He will be there to help. He will bring us through. So He does deserve to be honored, doesn’t He? Always honor Him by thanking Him. 

September 22

“Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?” Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord!” Psalm 4:6 (NASB©)

If we encounter people who are skeptical it is really nothing new. A long time ago David mentioned that he encountered people of that kind then. I am glad that David knew the answer to the question of the skeptics. When they asked who could show them any good, David knew from experience that it was his God who could do it. God had shown His goodness and His love to David many times. I trust that you can join with David in what he said. Has not God shown His love to us so many times? It is wonderful to think of God looking down on us in love; in acceptance of us even when we make mistakes. He is looking at us today as we come to Him for help.

Scripture quotation taken from the NASB©. (www.lockman.org)

August 6

“How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.” Psalm 31:19 (NIV)

We know that our God is infinite. That means that there is no limit to His love and His goodness. We must never think that we will ever come to the end of His goodness and faithfulness. Have you taken refuge in the Lord? Do you come to Him when you are troubled by things around you? No matter how many times you do come to Him, or how often you do, you will always find His goodness and love. You will never exhaust or come to the end of it. He’s got it all stored up for you, waiting for you to take advantage of it.

July 23

“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  Psalm 23:6 (NIV)

These words may be new to you, or they may be very familiar. Maybe we have memorized them in childhood. The psalmist had come to know his Shepherd and here expressed his faith in the Lord, His Shepherd. He had the assurance that he would be taken care of as long as he lived on earth. The goodness and love of God would be a part of his daily experience. And this is true for us who follow the Shepherd even now. We can experience His goodness and love each day, and can have the same assurance David had about life in eternity. There is an eternal home awaiting us too. So, let’s be encouraged!

July 1

“Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”  Psalm 116:7 (NIV)

We need to be reminded often of the goodness and love of our God. Here the psalmist is talking to himself reminding himself of God’s goodness. I’m impressed by the fact that it was a reminder of something he had known before. He tells himself to be at rest once more. He had experienced a spiritual relaxation, a spiritual peace before, maybe many times. Now something had disturbed his thinking and he needed to be reminded again of God’s goodness. Don’t we have experiences like that too? Even though you have trusted in the Lord before, something comes up and you are disturbed. Then you need to remind yourself of the truth you have already known.  

June 3

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”  2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

God has made a wonderful provision for those who trust in Him. Did you notice what it is that God has provided for us? First of all He gives us everything we need for life. That includes our needs of material things: Our need for food, for clothing, a place to live – the things we need to live in this world. Secondly, our God gives us everything we need for godliness, these are our spiritual needs. How does all this become ours? By knowing God, what He is, what He knows and what He can do. Our needs are met as we learn to know Him more and more. “…through our knowledge of Him who has called us…”

May 25

“How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.”  Psalm 31:19 (NIV)

Did you get the picture of the storehouse of goodness of God in these words? God knows how we need to experience His goodness and He wants us to know that He has lots of it to share with us. His goodness is stored up for our benefit.  How do we benefit from his goodness? We are told it is for those who fear God, those who revere Him. It is for those who seek refuge in God by trusting in Him for their needs. Let’s revere Him today and trust Him for everything. His goodness is there for us. Let’s take advantage of it!