Be Strong And Courageous

I love Psalm 31 in the New Living Translation. I am going to quote quite a bit of it today because the words are very “right on” for all of us.

Be for me a great rock of safety.
You are my rock and my fortress.
I find protection in you alone.
I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, “You are my God!” My future is in your hands.
Let your favor shine on me. In Your unfailing love, save me.
Your goodness is so great!
You have stored up great blessings for those who honor You.
You have done so much for those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.
You hide them in the shelter of your presence, safe from those who conspire against them.
You shelter them in your presence, far from accusing tongues.
Praise the Lord, for He has shown me His unfailing love.
Love the Lord, all you faithful ones!
For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him.
So be strong and take courage, all you who put your hope in the Lord.

And what about Psalm 1? Let’s listen to these words for God’s people versus those who are wicked.

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers.
But they delight in doing everything the Lord wants; day and night they think about His law (Word).
They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail.
Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper.
But this is not true of the wicked. They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly.
For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

So you’re probably asking---what does Psalm 31 and Psalm 1 have in common? Why are you putting these two Psalms together in one Pearl. I asked the Lord that just now. And I see their commonality. When we look to the Lord and meditate on His Word, we find His protection. We find His shelter and safety. His favor does shine upon us. We see His unfailing Love because we put our hope in Him----we put our hope in Him. We are faithful to Him and His Word and we see His faithfulness operating for us. We trust Him. He is our future. There is no confident future without Him.

We could also hook these two Psalms with Psalm 91. In your personal study time look at the 3 and compare them. Of course, the whole book of the Psalms ties many common threads together. Today’s thread was to have courage and hope in God, Who takes care of us with His unfailing love and protects us and shelters us from the enemy and what would be thrown at us.

Enjoy your day! With the Lord, every day is a joyful day!