06252022 Internal and Emotional Blessing

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our soul-strengthening God. With all the levels of needs we possess, perhaps none is so critical as what God does for our souls.

A ninth category of God's blessing on His children involves their internal and emotional state. Simply stated, the righteous have a strength in their soul that is divinely, rather than humanly, achieved. “In the day when I cried, thou … strengthenedst me with strength in my soul” (Psalm 138:3). In spite of all boasts and claims, humans do not naturally have strong souls. A strong soul comes from God. “LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare [strengthen] their heart” (Psalm 10:17).

One notable component of a strengthened soul is that it has received comfort from God. Human souls are easily assaulted by sorrow, grief, and pain. People become crushed internally, and it is not always easy to recover. God gives His children comfort and restoration in these challenging times. “Thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me” (Psalm 86:17). This strengthened soul enables a believer not only to recover from pain but also to walk through troubling times without fear. “He restoreth my soul. ... Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:3-4).

God's comfort to the soul is so abundant that it can actually reverse a troubling situation. A believer can move from anxiety to delight with God's help. “In the multitude of my [anxious] thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul” (Psalm 94:19). A believer can move from deep sorrow to great gladness through the healing of God. “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness” (Psalm 30:11).

God does not merely provide comfort to a hurting soul, but He goes so far as to provide healing and new life. “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). “This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me” (Psalm 119:50). This means that the believer is able to do more than just plod or struggle valiantly ahead. He is able to resume useful and meaningful life with renewed vigor.

Even a Christian does not have the strength of soul to manage life on his own. Aside from the aspect of sorrow which requires God’s comfort and healing, life also includes difficulty which requires internal strength from God. God is able to provide the strength each day that a Christian needs to live through the normal burdens of life. It is God who sustains the soul day in and day out. “Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul” (Psalm 54:4).

God does not merely give remedial help to combat the negative aspects of life, but He also adds a positive component to the living of life. The work that God does in the soul gives a buoyancy and vitality. God gives hope and confidence in the soul. “For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth” (Psalm 71:5). God provides peace in the soul. “He will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints” (Psalm 85:8). God gives such rich blessings that the innate longings of the soul are filled and satisfied. “For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9).

When we consider the frailty of the human soul, its difficulty in dealing with sorrow, and its challenge in facing everyday life, it is clear that God makes a tremendous difference. What God does in the human soul is to lift it above muddling through or managing; He raises it to the level of flourishing. “His soul shall dwell at ease” (Psalm 25:13). A prosperous soul comes only from God.

The ungodly do not share this blessing. They face the same assaults on their souls, the same sorrows, and the same challenges. Their lifestyles and choices often introduce even greater challenges to their souls. These people do not have divine help to rise above the difficulties. This is evident in the plethora of mental illnesses and emotional disorders in our world. The aspect highlighted in the Psalms is that of fear. “Put them in fear, O LORD” (Psalm 9:20). This fear can reach intense levels. “There were they [workers of iniquity] in great fear” (Psalm 14:5). It can become a power so overwhelming that it completely destroys the life. “How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors” (Psalm 73:19).

Do the souls of Christians constantly live in this strengthened, comforted, restored, and robust state? No. There are certainly challenges along the way. There are times of deep valleys. But there are no bottomless pits. Even in the most difficult times, there is an underlying sustaining of God. Because of the work of God, there is always an element of hope. While we may temporarily sink into a sad state of soul, imagine how much worse this would be if we were not experiencing the blessing of God’s soul-sustaining. With Him we sometimes struggle, but without Him we would be lost indeed.

May God meet the need of your soul this week, whatever that is. May your soul prosper.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

06182022 Stability

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the Watchful God. God is better than any parent, babysitter, or family pet. He watches His children at all times and in all places.

An eighth category of God's blessing to the believer is that of stability. Life is filled with changes and with ups and downs, but the believer enjoys an underlying foundation of stability. Because of this, he can remain firm even in changing times. “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water” (Psalm 1:3).

The one who trusts in God is not moved or shaken. “He that doeth these things shall never be moved” (Psalm 15:5). “He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). Both of these verses use the word “never.” The word “moved” means to waver, slip, slide, or be thrown off course. Even in threatening times of turmoil and assault, the believer can remain solidly and confidently in the place he ought to be. Psalm 125:1 uses the same word when it says, “They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed.” This stability is as sure as an unmovable mountain.

The stability is thorough and sure. “Nothing shall offend them [cause to stumble]” (Psalm 119:165). This is pretty amazing truth. In the midst of life's storms, when faith is under attack, and when everything seems in opposition, a believer can start to question his ability to remain faithful. He can sense the spiritual vulnerability in which his natural man wants to tell him to abandon his faith. But God says that no matter how difficult those battles are or how many they are, the believer can continue faithfully without stumbling or being thrown off course.

Part of this stability is the aspect of safety. “Now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety” (Psalm 12:5). Whereas the previous verses probably refer primarily to the state of a man's soul, this verse is directed more toward his actual circumstances. God protects His children.

The assurance of this protection provides peace and security. “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8). The believer can be so stable that he is able to rest with a quiet mind and body even when dangers threaten. He knows that God will watch over him. This is not just a small measure or an occasional experience of peace. “Great peace have they which love thy law” (Psalm 119:165). Such overwhelming peace is both a result of stability and a contributor to stability.

The peaceful stability is possible because God holds His children. With His hand He keeps them in their position. “Thy right hand hath holden me up” (Psalm 18:35). God takes it upon Himself to maintain and protect. “The Lord preserveth all them that love him” (Psalm 145:20).

The status of the wicked is far different. Instead of stability even in the storm, unbelievers struggle to have stability even in normal life. Rather, they are tossed and turned at every hand. “The ungodly … are like the chaff which the wind driveth away” (Psalm 1:4). Instead of stability, they are transient, easily fallen, and quickly forgotten. “For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb” (Psalm 37:2). There is no real or lasting stability for those who do not follow God.

May you find strength and peace this week in knowing the stability that only God can give and in resting in His care.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

06112022 Guidance

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our wise God. It is wonderful that we don’t need to rely on our own wisdom but can instead rely on the One who knows infinitely more than we do.

A seventh category of God's blessing to His children is His guidance. God’s children are not left to make their own way. They do not have to use their own wisdom to make decisions. The course of their lives is not controlled by fate. Instead, they have divine guidance for their steps.

God leads and teaches His children. “The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way” (Psalm 25:9). God leads His children justly and in right paths. “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). He teaches them His way, which will always be a good way and a way of protection, integrity, and blessing.

God's Word is an important part of this guidance. The Bible gives good and right counsel. “Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors” (Psalm 119:24). The Bible gives warning against dangerous or unwise decisions. “Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward” (Psalm 19:11). Following the counsel of the Bible results in blessing and reward. Those who allow themselves to be guided by God's Word will reap the benefit of following God's path.

God Himself also gives counsel. God carefully and attentively counsels His children, giving them teaching and instruction to guide their every path. This counsel is personalized by a God who constantly and meticulously watches over His children. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye” (Psalm 32:8).

Sometimes this counsel is through clear revelation of the Bible or a spiritual leader. Sometimes it is through the Holy Spirit’s ministry to an individual heart. Sometimes it is through the Spirit-influenced mind of a believer who has learned to filter his thoughts through the Bible; the thoughts that come to this type of man are worthy of careful consideration and attention. “I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins [mind] also instruct me in the night seasons” (Psalm 16:7). Especially when a believer has prayed for guidance, he should be sensitive and alert to the ideas that might gradually work their way into his head or seemingly pop out of nowhere.

God's guidance of the believer never ends. He will faithfully guide day after day. He will counsel the Christian all the way through his last day. “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death” (Psalm 48:14). “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory” (Psalm 73:24). The believer never has to make it through a single day without God's counsel.

Sadly, the wicked have rejected the simplest of God's truth found in His word. As a result, they do not receive additional guidance and counsel from God. The way they have chosen will not guide them in right and good paths. “Like sheep they [the foolish] are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them [tend them like a flock or pasture them]” (Psalm 49:14). The guiding shepherd for the wicked is death, and this shepherd's guidance will continually lead in their paths in that abysmal direction.

Thank God for the blessing of His guidance. May you be very aware of it each day and night, in each situation that confronts you.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

06042022 The Path

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God who helps us walk. It is wonderful to know that He guides our steps day by day.

A sixth category of God’s blessing has to do with the path that the righteous and the wicked walk. The path of the righteous man is truly blessed. “All the paths of the LORD are mercy [lovingkindness] and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies” (Psalm 25:10). God’s ways are filled with lovingkindness and truth for His people. This is not merely an occasional path of lovingkindness and truth, but all His paths. No matter where the believer walks in obedience to God, he finds lovingkindness and truth to support him and to guide him.

One way God provides a path of blessing is by giving illumination. God shines His light on the path of the righteous. When the way seems dark, and the answers cannot be seen, God is able to break through that darkness. He can take a path that has seemed very dark and can instead make it shine brightly and clearly. “The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness (Psalm 18:28).

God’s blessing on the path is also shown by His ability to keep His children from slipping. “Who holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved” (Psalm 66:9). God can help His children’s feet to remain firmly on the path. He does this in at least two ways. One of those is that He makes the steps on the path so broad that His children can walk easily on them. “Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip” (Psalm 18:36). In this way, God removes much of the danger that lies in a narrow or otherwise treacherous path. With adequate and even spacious places to put their feet, God’s children can walk safely. A second way that God keeps His children from slipping is by holding them up. When the path grows perilous, and the believer begins to slip, God can hold him securely. “When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up” (Psalm 94:18).

God also blesses the path of His children by enabling them to walk on paths they would never be able to reach on their own. He can strengthen and transform their feet so they can walk on high and lofty places. With God’s enablement, His followers can reach heights they never would have dreamed of, because God has blessed them. “He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places” (Psalm 18:33).

Lest we think that it is possible for everyone to walk on lofty heights with such light and stability, God makes it clear that the path for the wicked is very different. Because of the perversity they have chosen, they are led not into light, but into destruction. “As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity” (Psalm 125:5). Their feet do not find firm footing, because in addition to being dark, their path is also slippery. “Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the LORD persecute them” (Psalm 35:6). As they walk this dark and slippery way, they are pursued by a righteous God who will ultimately cause their path to end in death. “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction” (Psalm 73:18). The wicked grope in darkness, slipping and falling at every turn, and ending in disaster.

The sadness of the path of the wicked serves to highlight the tremendous blessing that the children of God enjoy. With light, support, and strength from God, the righteous walk a blessed path indeed. May you be very aware this week of God’s blessing on your path.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA