Son, always listen to the crazy old men. Mostly it’s just geezer gas, but ever now and then, they’ll drop a pearl on you. Be ready to ketch it.”
–Lou Bradshaw (Hickory Jack)
“The Lord said, ‘It is because they abandoned My instruction that I set in front of them and did not obey My voice or walk according to it.'”
–Jeremiah 9:13 (HCSB)
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“Though they lead o’er the cold, dark mountains, seeking His sheep;
Or along by Siloam’s fountains, helping the weak.
Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow;
We will follow the steps of Jesus where’re they go.”
–Mary Slade
Are you quivering with fear, afraid to venture out or take another step? Because use of this virus, many are. Take time to meditate on this portion of Psalm 37. These Scriptures should give us hope and build our faith. The Lord is interested and involved in every aspect of your life. What are your plans for the day? Have you involved God in them, asked Him about them? In another version, the second part of verse 23 states, “He delights in every detail of your lives.” If you’re in a quandary about what to do–ask Him. Take a step for they will be guided by the Lord.
23 – A man’s steps are established by the Lord, and He takes pleasure in his way.
24 – Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord holds his hand.
Perhaps these next verses mean more to me now than before. I saw it in action with several of the godly people I saw in the church as I was growing up, but now I know it firsthand. I can say with complete assurance, the Lord has always been with me. What are the words of that relatively new song, “He’s a good, good Father”? Annie and I have been in places where we’ve had little and we’ve had times where we’ve had more than enough. There have been times when we’ve eaten steak, and there have been times when we’ve had the pinto beans, but we’ve never gone hungry. Living on Social Security, we do not look for the government to provide, we look to the Lord. He knows how to stretch a dollar, and knows where, when, and how we should spend. The Lord is good, and He is faithful.
My children are now serving the Lord, the greatest satisfaction a father could have. They are following the steps that the Lord have established for them, as are the grandchildren. Surely, the Lord is good.
25 – I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread.
26 – He is always generous, always lending, and his children are a blessing.
Verses 27-29, are true to an extent in this life, but the truth of them extend on into eternity. There will be a day, a second death, for the wicked, for those who reject Christ. However, the godly will walk in His way and will inherit, not only the land, but eternal life.
27 – Turn away from evil and do what is good, and dwell there forever.
28 – For the Lord loves justice and will not abandon His faithful ones. They are kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.
29 – The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it permanently. (HCSB)
There is a requirement–“turn away from evil.” The Lord will never leave or forsake the godly; it is their steps that He will guide and establish. The godly will inherit the land. Do you sometimes feel lost, then do an inventory of your life, turn away from evil and back to the Lord. Get back into the Word, and then take a step–it will be guided and established by the Lord. And let me add, this is worship–worship with the will. Don’t be afraid of getting lost. “The godly man is not left in the trackless forest without a guide, or doomed to struggle in the darkness without a kindly light; he is not orphaned in the world without a loving hand to aid. His Father, unseen but not unknown, has prepared the path and somehow guides the steps of those who commit their way to him”. (James Hastings)