The Steps of a Good Man Are Ordered by the Lord

I send an early morning text message to my children every day. Yesterday, I texted my son: “'The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and He delights in his way.” Psalm 37:23. I went on to say: "I love this scripture because it describes you and how God delights in the steps that you take daily. I am so thankful for you and the leadership you give to your company, your family and so many others. I sure do love you and I’m so thankful for you.”

Psalm 37 was written by King David in the twilight of his life. He was writing from his experience of knowing and walking with God. He was looking back at his life of great victories and great failures. I've heard it said that we never learn much about ourselves during our times of victory, but who we are and what we're really made of are in those times of failure when we're forced to look deep in our hearts.

In that scripture, I realized that the emphasis is on the GOOD man (or woman). When we give our heart to the Lord, we embark on a journey of a specific plan that God has willed for each one of His children. We didn’t come into the family of God to wander aimlessly in life, but to do and be what He has planned for us.

I love the analogy of Christ as our Good Shepherd and we are supposed to be His GOOD sheep. He desires to take care of us and protect us, but remember that little renegade sheep that left the fold and wanted to do his own thing? The Good Shepherd didn't let him stray too far. More than anything, He wants us to be His GOOD sheep so that we are out of harm's way -- the enemy's way!

That is the picture of such great love that God has for us. Why wouldn't we desire to be a "good sheep", rather, a "good man or woman” who stays in right standing with his Father, his Good Shepherd, and whose faith is solely placed in He Who will go the nth degree to protect, love, and even die for Him?

Lord, may we bring you great joy and pleasure and may You delight in the ways we go daily so we can count on our steps and our ways being directed and ordered by You. Amen.

Our WORDS Matter

If you follow my blog or my Facebook posts you know that I’ve determined to have a “word of the day” every day this year. Having that focus has sure helped me with my subject matter. God highlights a word to me and then I run with it. My WORD today is WORD: a single, distinct, element of speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence. That sounds innocent enough. Right? Oh, but our WORDS matter!

Our WORDS convey who we are and what’s in our hearts. “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Luke 6:45) I watched Billy Graham's funeral service online yesterday. Whenever I’ve heard his name mentioned, since his passing and before, he was the good man that this scripture described.
Like Billy Graham, may our hearts be filled with good things and when we speak…..people listen to those words and are refreshed and encouraged because of them. May we be God's instruments of peace and love when we speak not hate.

God, Himself, proved that WORDS matter. He started out this massive universe with creative WORDS “Let there be light, and there was light”. (Genesis 1:3). It’s been a great learning experience to look up word definitions, but to also take those WORDS to heart to help make me that good woman who brings good things out of her heart. Our WORDS matter.

Aren't these some of those good words? “I love you, you’re important to me, thank you so much, how can I repay you, you look really nice today, I’m so sorry, I forgive you, I like your new hair style, great job, this place wouldn’t be the same without you, I’m so proud of you, you are irreplaceable, you brighten up the room when you come in.”

And then there are those words that produce just the opposite: “I hate you, you're stupid, I am such a LOSER!, you are hopeless, I wish you had never been born, I wish I were dead, you make me sick, I will never forgive you, I want a divorce, nobody cares about you, I’ll never speak to you again.”

“Words can bring death or life! Talk too much, and you will eat everything you say.” (Proverbs 18:21). We were made in God’s image. He created this world with His words. We, too, create with our words. We can usher in praise when the world seems to crumble around us. We can bring hope when everything seems hopeless. We can soothe a troubled heart, when someone is in despair. We can bring LIFE with our words.

In our lifetime, we could fill a library with the words we speak, and if we did, what would the titles of those books be? Our words have a powerful influence on others. God is looking for messengers of hope, faith and love and He wants our WORDS to be on target each day doing just that.

Proverbs 16:24 says "Pleasant words are honey from a honeycomb— sweet to the soul and healing for the body." Don't we want pleasant words to come from our hearts and mouths that reflect God’s character in our actions. Whether we are talking with a store cashier or interacting with those we do everyday life with, don't we want to work towards being men and women who display Godly character and who possess the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control to be evident through our words?

Whether our day goes smooth as glass or is rocky and bumpy, may God’s messages of truth have such an impact on us that our hearts and mouths produce "soft and sweet words.....so that if we have to eat them, we'll be eating yummy, delectable treats.