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Tuesday Morning Epistles
Welcome to "Tuesday Morning"—where hundreds of people just
like you find encouragement every week.
John Henry Jowett once said, "A crisis does not make a
man—it reveals a man." Crises find people.
Sometimes people cause them; other times they do not.
Crises, however, bring out the best—or the worst—in people.
The question is, "Where do I go for help when a crisis finds
me?" And the answer is...? There is no one answer
for every crisis or setback that comes along. But there
is help. I look first in the Psalms. And instinctively,
I turn to Psalm 37—a psalm of David.
The title for this week's "TM" is "Good News—Bad News." It
is based on the teachings of Psalm 37. And it may be just
the right thing for you. Before you open the attachment
below, turn to Psalm 37 and read it through in one sitting.
Then continue reading below. I believe you will find help
there.
Tom Barnard
A Senior Encourager
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Good News—Bad News Tom Barnard
alph Waldo Emerson, the 19th
century philosopher/essayist/poet/lecturer, lived most of his
life in
But when God makes promises, his performance always “outruns” his promises. What he says, he will do. And more. David understood this truth, and in Psalm 37 he contrasts God’s promises to the godly with his promises to the ungodly. Bottom line—the news for the godly is good. The news for the ungodly is bad. David sets the stage at the beginning of the psalm with these words to the godly folk:
“Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.”
David’s admonition to the godly continues in verse 7: “Stop your anger! Turn from your rage! Do not envy others—it only leads to harm.” And the promise follows: “(T)he wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land” (v. 9). Beginning with verse 10 are more penalties to those who “plot against the godly.” They will disappear (v. 10); the Lord will laugh at their stupidity (v. 13); they will be killed with their own swords (v. 15).
In verse 18 the psalmist begins another series of promises to the godly: “Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent, and they will receive a reward that lasts forever. They will survive through hard times; even in famine they will have more than enough.” To the godly, all news is good. To the ungodly, not so.
Now turn with me to the promise made to the godly in Psalm 37:23, 24 (NLT).
“The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”
The immediate question that begs an answer is this one: Who are the godly about whom David was speaking? What makes them different than anyone else—so different, in fact, that God “delights in every detail of their lives”?
As a new believer at age 12, I
began to look around for model Christians to emulate in my
new-found faith. There was my mother, of course. By anyone’s
definition she was a godly saint. She was everything I was
not—quiet, peaceful, kind, and submissive.
In my church—when I was a boy—I concluded that all the godly people were old (at least 50). They didn’t have any bad habits that I knew about. They didn’t smoke or drink, or attend dances or go to the movies. But was that the true measure of “godliness”? Of course not. The people I most admired in my church were those who took an interest in me, who encouraged me in my faith, who prayed a lot, and whose prayers were answered. I loved to be around those folk. I still can call some of their names, sixty-five years later.
There’s one more quality that describes the godly person. David said, “Though they stumble, they will not fall.” And when they stumble (and all of us do), they are quick to get to their feet. I love this poem:
We’re thankful, Lord, that when we fall We can begin anew If humbly we confess our sin, Then turn and follow you. |