COME! YOU GOOD THINGS.
PSALM 34: 6 TO 14
Psa. 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Psa. 34:9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
Psa. 34:10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
Psa. 34:11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Psa. 34:12 Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
Psa. 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
Psa. 34:14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Psalmist is focusing on the truth that those who put their trust in the Lord will be surrounded by good things.
Surely this is not a simplistic all embracing promise to all people everywhere.
Surely there is more to it than meets the eye. Conditions of obedience etc!
Absolutely not! The goodness of God toward you and I is not tied up in legal conditions etc. The goodness of God is ever present everywhere. The goodness of God sustains all things and is the invisible foundation upon which all things exist.
How can we then cause this eternal goodness to materialise into good things in our world. Is it possible to be surrounded by good things continually even in a broken and sin filled world. I think so.
- TASTE AND SEE THE LORD IS GOOD.
All goodness is found in Christ.
It is Christ who has made it possible for us to link again to the eternal goodness of a loving God.
It is through Christ that the good things God has prepared for us are revealed.
However one must see Christ as Lord first, before His world can become your world. Two big words are found in this verse. TRUST AND FEAR.
Blessed is the man who TRUSTS in Him. FEAR the Lord, you His saints.
Have you seen Him as Lord of all things? His world of good things cannot become your world until He is seen as Lord over all things, including the inner world of your heart.
- THOSE WHO SEEK THE LORD SHALL NOT LACK ANY GOOD THING
Once you have seen that it is because He is the Lord that goodness can prevail in His presence, you can then seek Him as Lord.
Note we are not seeking Him for good things; we are seeking Him as Lord.
Because I have seen Him as Lord of all my life, I want to seek Him.
I want to experience His slant of goodness, on all that happens in my life.
I want heaven’s spin of goodness put onto my world.
I want to change from being a young lion possessing life through my own strength, to being a seeker of the Lord.
He promises that I will not lack ANY GOOD THING if I do this.
He also promises that ALL THINGS WILL WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD.
All I have to do is SEE HIM AS LORD and SEEK HIM AS LORD.
- DESIRE LIFE; LOVE MANY DAYS AND LOOK FOR GOOD THINGS.
It appears that those who genuinely seek the Lords goodness in life have a certain mindset toward life. They are continually looking for good things to materialise in their lives every day.
A/ THEY DESIRE LIFE TO THE FULL
Jesus has come that we might have life to the fullest measure.
There is an unhealthy attitude in Christian circles that prohibits living life as some kind of mark of spirituality. The more things you cut off in life the more “mature” you have become. Unfortunately these “knife wielding circumcisers” get their kicks from cutting things off other people.
The life we live here on planet earth should be overflowing in three key areas;
RIGHTEOUSNESS Full of God’s life and purpose in all things
RELATIONSHIPS Full of people and celebration to share things
RESOURCE Full of riches and resource to do things
B/ THEY LOVE MANY DAYS
People who experience the goodness of God in their lives, know how to turn ordinary days into “special days.” They have many days to celebrate the goodness of God. They not only believe to live a long life, but they make every day one they love. They celebrate life as God’s gift of goodness to them. Make every day an anniversary to the goodness of the Lord.
C/ THEY LOOK FOR GOOD THINGS
God’s goodness is everywhere in life. It is amazing how two people can be in the same situation and one sees the good, while the other person sees the problem. One sees the overcrowded restaurant, the other sees the great crowd enjoying a special night out together. One sees the long queue at the sporting event, the other sees a great opportunity to meet new people while waiting in line.
God seekers look for the good in everything. They expect good things to come to them.
A few years ago we lost our son Andrew to cancer. During his illness and death we were continually tempted to ask why such awful things should happen to our family, however God really challenged me to SEE HIM AS LORD and to continually SEE HIS GOODNESS in all things.
We have been amazed at how many GOOD THINGS have already come out of our time of trouble and how many wonderful friends we have around the world. We made a commitment to only look for good things through it all.
- THEY DEPART FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD THINGS
God seekers choose not only to run from evil, but to engage their lives in doing good things.
Righteousness is not just about being a good person, but it is more about expressing God’s essential goodness in you in a tangible outward manner.
Good things people are always looking for ways to share their good things.
In righteousness They love sharing their testimony of Christ
In relationships They love sharing their lives with other people
In resource They love being generous with what they NOW have.
Doing and speaking good things is the end result of people who are God seekers.
Living good days full of life and joy-filled celebration is the end result of people who are God seekers.
Sharing good things continually is the end result of people who are God seekers.
COME TO ME – YOU GOOD THINGS!
Great thoughts Stephen. Thanks. MLS
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