Probabilities, not Promises

31/5/14

S: Psalm 37 ³Trust in the lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. ... ⁷Be still in the presence of the lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. ... ¹⁶It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich. ¹⁷For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the lord takes care of the godly. ... ²⁵Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread. ²⁶The godly always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing.

O: Sometimes when we read the Psalms and Proverbs, we read some stuff that is manifestly untrue. Sometimes the good do suffer. Sometimes the evil do prosper — at least in this life. Sometimes we don't see justice done.

As a result, some people lose faith. It seems as if these "promises" in scripture are not being fulfilled.

There are two aspects here. Firstly, these are not "promises" per se, but rather, principles or probabilities. If you do this, things will tend to go well for you — but it is not a promise that it definitely will... at least, not in this life.

That's the second aspect of this: that ultimately God is just and God is judge. Even so, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and God does not want anyone to perish. In a sense, we are all wicked. But God loves us and so while we were still sinners, He sent His Son to die for us, so that we may be saved and spend eternity with Him.

A: So, be good anyway. The principles He gives us does predispose us to a better life, but it not a guarantee of it. But regardless, once we have been covered by the blood of the Lamb of God, we are adopted into His family. So we do good out of a love relationship with God, not to earn merit to gain heaven. And yes, the Lord does help the Godly, rescuing them from the wicked, as it says in Psalm 37:40.

P: Father, when I am tempted to do evil, help me to trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)