Hello siblings
I pray your week has been going well. Mine has. It’s been full and enriching. As we move towards the close of Psalm 34, I pray that we’ve felt moved to view God and God’s willingness to accompany us through the Valley of Shadows positively. It has been a reminder for me and an invitation once again to allow Y’shua to take the driver’s seat, as He knows what He’s doing. When we consider Today’s Holy Nougat, may our day take a positive turn, knowing God’s got our backs.
Psalms 34:20-21 CEB
[20] He protects all their bones; not even one will be broken.
[21] But just one problem will kill the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be held responsible.
Protection-Problems-Responsibility
Siblings, we can approach our Nougat in two ways. Continue our reflection on this prophetic pericope; or we can take heart in what it offers to us for our lives. Both approaches offer us a promise. Let’s begin with our personal promises.
Self-Check
In taking this Nougat at face value, what does it offer to us?
Protection
Before we throw the personal promise out because we know so many believers who’ve met their end at the hands of the wicked, let us pause. How many times has God done the impossible by rescuing us from sure and certain danger? Do we know anyone who was at the brink of lack, disaster, loss… and God came through? More critically, how have the disasters we’ve faced become testimonies to God, based on what occurred after?
It isn’t always easy to concede that God knows what God is doing. It isn’t easy to yield to Y’shua in the driver’s seat when life seems/is on the brink of disaster. And, it most certainly isn’t easy to forgive the wrongs we’ve endured at the instigation of the wicked. But if we allow Him control, we usually discover that Christ’s plan is bigger and more impactful than ours. We might even find ourselves being the one to extend mercy by appealing to God on such persons’ behalf.
May we remember that God’s protection is sure, sometimes we see it through the Protection of our spirits, at other times it is our bones, reputation, or other aspects of our lives that are saved. God hears our cries. Let’s cry out in times of difficulty, believing God will keep God’s promise to save.
Problems
If we don’t see the wicked having problems, we can’t assume that they get away scot-free. As the children’s chorus reminds us, For there’s a Father up Above, looking down in tender love… God sees, and even when we are allowed to move past our wrongs, there is a penalty that must be paid. Sometimes, it’s swift. Other times, it is delayed. God doesn’t abide with evil.
Does this mean we pray evil for them? As tempting as it sounds, and though it was common in David’s time, God calls us to forgive and seek peace.
Responsibility
For there will be a point when we all are obliged to take responsibility for our actions. Good and bad. That’s partly what we see predicted in Matthew 25. Remember the parable of the sheep and goats? All were separated according to how they treated the hungry, thirsty, naked, and sick. Some received the inheritance of God’s kingdom, and others were condemned to the fate of the devil and his angels. Our decision to take on the responsibilities placed in our care, including forgiving those who hurt us, determines our outcome.
Protection, Problems, Responsibility… it’s our choice. Let’s choose wisely by choosing God’s way.
Point to Ponder
Have we been guilty of hating on God’s righteous? Will we take responsibility and seek forgiveness today?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
