“This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” (Psalm 18:30, ESV)
It is extremely important in your life to take to heart the Word of God. Read your Bible! Study its meanings. Memorize important passages to shore up your weaknesses or increase your protection. Meditate on it. Why? Because the scripture for today asserts that “the word of the Lord proves true” (Psalm 18:30)! God’s “way is perfect”. God is a “shield for all those who take refuge in Him”!
So many people do not want to follow God’s word. They don’t want to obey God’s laws and direction. This inevitably gets them into trouble in life. Why? Because “the word of the Lord proves true” (Psalm 18:30)! By not following God’s leading, your will find yourself on a wrong path, headed the wrong direction, or desiring what is not good for you! If, out of temptation, you do something you should not, it will always come back to bite you. How do I know this? Not only from personal experience but also from the scripture for today. God’s “way is perfect”. When you seek a shortcut and do not follow the path God wants you to follow, it will cause you problems in the end. God can see what you cannot! God desires your best interests! God “is a shield for you” in life (Psalm 18:30 again!)!
I have watched closely the lives of atheists who refuse to accept God’s word or obey God’s command. In the end, they all become miserable, shallow, greedy, or full of regrets. Why? Because they are like people groping in the dark. Without following God’s direction and word, they do what seems best at the time. This gets them in trouble EVERY TIME! They do not realize that Satan throws temptations, lies, deceitful tests, and spiritual blocks their way. Without God’s word, without the leading of God’s Holy Spirit, they will inevitably falter and fail while groping for the next truth or worldly wisdom or ideological fallacy.
For several years, I watched closely the life of a pastor’s daughter. She grew up in a home filled with godly love and affection. She learned the 10 commandments. She could recite them by heart! She went to worship and had many friends who knew God. Then, she got caught up with a group of successful people who gave her promotions at work and many adulations. Being very pretty and highly intelligent, they made her the face of their company and promoted feminist and liberal ideals. The pastor’s daughter rejected God and lived that lifestyle.
The longer that pastor’s daughter lived this life away from God and God’s word, the more mistakes she made. I could tell she wasn’t happy. She found no man good enough to be a soulmate. She took drugs to overcome her loneliness. She surrounded herself with friends who told her what she wanted to hear. She spent money like she had an endless supply. She spent thousands of dollars on beauty treatments and surgeries to keep herself young. She went from one fad to another in everything from clothing lines to beauty products. She threw herself into health crazes, dabbled in the occult, and became unbelievably self-absorbed.
Today, this pastor’s daughter is a shadow of her former self. Her beauty is fading. Her popularity is dying. She may not have wrinkles on her face, but her body is old beyond her years from hard partying. Her soul is shriveled. She is angry way too much. She doesn’t have time to care for her aging parents. She doesn’t even have one trustworthy friend. She falls into bed lonely. She wakes up and takes drugs to get through the day. All those little and big choices she made not relying on God are causing her headache after headache. She is truly, deeply unhappy and resentful and angry inside heart and soul.
In the book, Wisdom for Each Day, I found the perfect words to end today’s meditation:
“Has it ever struck you how important it is that God is perfect? We know God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, and absolutely pure and holy and just. But He is also absolutely perfect.
What if He weren’t perfect? What if He made mistakes... or failed to keep His promises...or did things only half-way...or occasionally told a lie...or slipped up and forgot to do what He said He would—all the things, in other words, that we often do (or fail to do)? If God were this way, why bother to trust Him? Why bother to worship Him?
But God isn’t like this! God is perfect—absolutely, totally perfect in all He is and all He does. And because He is perfect, you can trust Him. You can trust His love, and you can trust His promises. You can trust Him to guide you, and you can trust Him to be with you even in life’s darkest times. Most of all you can trust Him to save you through Christ—because His way of salvation is perfect.” (March 1, Billy Graham)
So many people do not want to follow God’s word. They don’t want to obey God’s laws and direction. This inevitably gets them into trouble in life. Why? Because “the word of the Lord proves true” (Psalm 18:30)! By not following God’s leading, your will find yourself on a wrong path, headed the wrong direction, or desiring what is not good for you! If, out of temptation, you do something you should not, it will always come back to bite you. How do I know this? Not only from personal experience but also from the scripture for today. God’s “way is perfect”. When you seek a shortcut and do not follow the path God wants you to follow, it will cause you problems in the end. God can see what you cannot! God desires your best interests! God “is a shield for you” in life (Psalm 18:30 again!)!
I have watched closely the lives of atheists who refuse to accept God’s word or obey God’s command. In the end, they all become miserable, shallow, greedy, or full of regrets. Why? Because they are like people groping in the dark. Without following God’s direction and word, they do what seems best at the time. This gets them in trouble EVERY TIME! They do not realize that Satan throws temptations, lies, deceitful tests, and spiritual blocks their way. Without God’s word, without the leading of God’s Holy Spirit, they will inevitably falter and fail while groping for the next truth or worldly wisdom or ideological fallacy.
For several years, I watched closely the life of a pastor’s daughter. She grew up in a home filled with godly love and affection. She learned the 10 commandments. She could recite them by heart! She went to worship and had many friends who knew God. Then, she got caught up with a group of successful people who gave her promotions at work and many adulations. Being very pretty and highly intelligent, they made her the face of their company and promoted feminist and liberal ideals. The pastor’s daughter rejected God and lived that lifestyle.
The longer that pastor’s daughter lived this life away from God and God’s word, the more mistakes she made. I could tell she wasn’t happy. She found no man good enough to be a soulmate. She took drugs to overcome her loneliness. She surrounded herself with friends who told her what she wanted to hear. She spent money like she had an endless supply. She spent thousands of dollars on beauty treatments and surgeries to keep herself young. She went from one fad to another in everything from clothing lines to beauty products. She threw herself into health crazes, dabbled in the occult, and became unbelievably self-absorbed.
Today, this pastor’s daughter is a shadow of her former self. Her beauty is fading. Her popularity is dying. She may not have wrinkles on her face, but her body is old beyond her years from hard partying. Her soul is shriveled. She is angry way too much. She doesn’t have time to care for her aging parents. She doesn’t even have one trustworthy friend. She falls into bed lonely. She wakes up and takes drugs to get through the day. All those little and big choices she made not relying on God are causing her headache after headache. She is truly, deeply unhappy and resentful and angry inside heart and soul.
In the book, Wisdom for Each Day, I found the perfect words to end today’s meditation:
“Has it ever struck you how important it is that God is perfect? We know God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, and absolutely pure and holy and just. But He is also absolutely perfect.
What if He weren’t perfect? What if He made mistakes... or failed to keep His promises...or did things only half-way...or occasionally told a lie...or slipped up and forgot to do what He said He would—all the things, in other words, that we often do (or fail to do)? If God were this way, why bother to trust Him? Why bother to worship Him?
But God isn’t like this! God is perfect—absolutely, totally perfect in all He is and all He does. And because He is perfect, you can trust Him. You can trust His love, and you can trust His promises. You can trust Him to guide you, and you can trust Him to be with you even in life’s darkest times. Most of all you can trust Him to save you through Christ—because His way of salvation is perfect.” (March 1, Billy Graham)