Journal Entry ~ 07/05/19

Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.  - Psalm 125:1

Further down in this psalm is this petition prayer: Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts!  - Psalm 125:4

None of us deserve God’s goodness. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and we all deserve eternal damnation, but by His grace, He has promised to do good for those of us who love Him so we ask for it in prayer. The hold up for many of us in asking for His goodness is the phrasing of this verse - do good to those who are good. 

Many of us know we are not good - but for some, our lack of goodness can consume our thoughts and control our behavior. We recount our lives as a series of failures, we have never accomplished anything of value, and we never will. We spend so much time dwelling on the fact that we are worthless, that it paralyzes our ability to do any good for the kingdom. We become overwhelmed with feelings of anxiety or depression, and we can’t move forward. We can’t get out of bed, we can’t participate in life. We stay lost in the pit of despair, not even trying to look for the staircase out. We are not good, we will never be good, so why even try?

Some of us, on the other hand, are caught in the victim mentality - nothing good will ever happen to me. Our lives are retold through a tragic series of unfortunate events, and we cannot see the good in our lives. We are always caught in a trial, and we never seem to catch a break. When people ask us how we are doing, we recount all the things that are wrong with our lives. We don’t necessarily think we’re worthless, but the world seems like it’s out to get us. We’re always complaining about how bad things are in our lives, and we view the good in other people’s life with jealousy and anger. 

But God. He promises good to those who are good. If this verse was talking about perfect people who were never sinless, none of us would ever experience blessings. Goodness here is not referring to works, or what you’ve accomplished, but rather those who are upright in their hearts.  The word upright is translated as straight, so those who have a heart straight for the Lord. So if you have a heart straight for the Lord, He promises to do good for you. How do you get a heart straight for the Lord?  Just look up a couple of verses - you trust in Him. 

If your heart is for the Lord, if you trust in Him completely, with all of life’s circumstances, you will experience the goodness of the Lord. He will bless your life if you trust Him. He does not think you are worthless, He loves you and created you to be exactly as you are. He has not cursed your life with tragic events. He wants to bless your life. He wants to bring good into your life. Straighten up your heart and trust Him so He can.


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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