“Many evils confront the [consistently] righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all”. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. The enemy of Christ, does not take a liking to us at all. He wants to kill, steal, and destroy, that’s been his M. O. from the day he hit the earth, to get back at God by coming for His children. God has equipped us for battle in this world by giving us His all powerful word to use against Satan. The text reads; ” the (consistently) righteous person…..”. The enemy is always looking for a way into that unprotected part of our lives that hasn’t quite been developed yet. God can and will deliver us from all evil. Jesus prayed, Father, don’t take them out of the world, but help them live above the evil in the world. The troubles have a purpose in our lives, but only that which God allows to come your way. Without the troubles or storms, we can’t grow in faith. Faith is everything when it comes to God, as the crisis, or troubles of life drive people straight to God.

” The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving”. The Lord is our strength and our shield. As we trust in Him more and more, that shield becomes even more fortified, and our strength is made perfect (mature) through our weakness. Once physical strength is depleted, the supernatural kicks in. Now if you don’t believe it, it may not be happening for you. We believe with our hearts (no ocular or physical proof, not with your understanding) The key words in the text are, ” I trust Him with my whole heart….”. When we lose ourselves in believing for God’s promised provisions for our lives, and having cast all our care on Him, because He cares for us, then we reap the benefits of our confessed faith in Him, and His word. Faith is, and always will be the hand that takes from God. Without faith it is impossible to please God, and when we please God, blessings begin to overflow in our lives. So when you get weak, strength is available, and when you need protection, He is your strong tower.

“For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you”. Here we see how much God loves His people. If the mountains should depart and the hills are shaken or removed, God’s love and kindness shall not leave us. His love is steadfast towards us. This means His love of correction, His love of comfort, His love which is connected to His kindness will be our portion in everyday living. Love isn’t letting someone do whatever they want to do. Lawlessness is at the door when correction is absent. His love of comfort comes through His peace by which He anoints our human spirits to experience it, it’s like a download from heaven, a direct connection into our hearts. When our hearts and minds are settled, peace comes in. How do we experience this, the love of God has been shed aboard in our hearts by the Holy Spirit when we became Christians. As we develop that seed of agape love in us, (by loving others on purpose), that love grows, and becomes in agreement with God’s love, then we reap the benefits.

“He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water”. When we believe in Christ, from our hearts, shall rivers of living water flow. So when we become hungry and thirsty for God, in us lies the answer. The human soul cries out for its creator. We try satisfying that thirst with false entities of demonic nature, or we try quenching it with drugs and or alcohol. It’s a spiritual thirst that will never be satisfied with natural remedies. We desire and crave the supernatural, and Satan has set up the diversion through deception, and delusional tactics to keep us off track, and away from the only one who can satisfy our souls thirst, the Lord Jesus Christ. We become rivers of living waters to help others struggling with a thirsty soul. Living waters is a life source of God’s word eveready to dispense from the heart of a believing, trusting Christian, to those in need of help which no man could ever supply.

“He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him–not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake”. Only God the creator of your soul can refresh and restore our souls. Sometimes we can’t help ourselves and that’s when the Lord will reign supreme in doing so. When our mind is sick, things are not as easily corrected. We usually need psychological help from specialists in this area. A demonically oppressed person cannot deliver himself from that stronghold. It will take a person who knows his authority in Christ Jesus to deliver you. They call them exorcists, but in reality, it only takes a person who has regular rich fellowship with the Lord as a lifestyle, you KNOW God, and He knows, and can trust you with His power to deliver others. Over worked, and overburdened people need this refreshing from the Lord. To restore your soul or your life to what it’s supposed to be, is just as easy for Him to do. Seek and you shall find, knock, and God will open the door to your victory.

“Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another”. The example has been given. God first loved us by sending His only begotten Son to die for our sin. Since Jesus lived a sinless life while on earth we can have a chance at loving each other God’s way. Jesus destroyed the works of the devil, and freedom from habitual wrong doing is available. We can’t love one another if we’re bound by the sin nature. The love of God was shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit at the new birth. The ability is in us to love with the agape love of God. It’s a selfless love of sacrifice at times, but aligning ourselves with the teachings and precepts of the Lord, we can. Love is like any other habit forming entity, the more you love, the easier it is to do so. It takes practice especially with unlovable people. But that seed of love planted in you when you got saved, needs to grow like a tree, firm, and immovable, becoming a sure foundation ready for anything life throws at it.

“Now may the God Who gives the power of patient endurance (steadfastness) and Who supplies encouragement, grant you to live in such mutual harmony and such full sympathy with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus”. God gives the power of patient endurance. We can all from time to time use help in remaining steadfast. Many times we go ahead of our God given plans to make it happen now. Timing with God is everything. There are different seasons for certain events to happen in your life, but sometimes we jump the gun and get served unripened fruit for the premature actions we took. Through faith and patience we obtain the promises of God. The peace of God that passes all understanding is available to all christians. Peace will guide our hearts into harmonious living with our neighbors. That same peace from God acts as a guard for our hearts, keeping our right standing with God secure. As much as you possibly can, live at peace with everyone.

“For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it…….”. Without any discipline we’d be running amok in riotous behavior 24/7. We all need a governor on our human nature. Human nature has been in the fallen state (spiritually, and it has affected us physically) since the Adam and Eve disobedience in the garden of Eden. God has offered a plan to rid human nature of the fallen state it’s in by eradicating our sin nature into the sea of forgetfulness. Discipline is necessary to acquire deliverance from the fallen state of man. Don’t be fooled because you’re used to being a certain way all your life, it doesn’t make you blameless in character, nor does it put you in right standing with God. Discipline is never pleasant at the time of execution but it opens a place for divine input to show us the right way to go without unnecessary repercussions. Most people are in prison, on drugs or alcohol, unruly, etc, due to lack of correction or discipline.

“Those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life”. These are the words of Jesus the Savior. His message is that of hope, and life. Jesus is the way the truth and the life, no man gets into heaven except by Him. He became the savior of the world by paying the price that justice demands because of mankind’s sin. We were born with the sin nature in us, helpless. All have sinned and fallen short of being in right standing with God. Jesus was born on the earth without the sin nature being passed on, because God is His Father, without the sin nature being passed down. So Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for sin, since He lived a sinless life. Just call on His name and you will be saved, and able to enter into the Kingdom of God, and thereby obtain eternal life.

“The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but fools despise skillful and godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline”. The best way to realize a fool in your mist is when that person despises skillful and godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline. When we become unteachable and uncorrectable, we are at the door that reads, all fools enter through here. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, it is the reverential fear, having deep respect for God which opens the door for knowledge to walk through. We must be in an attitude of, ultimately living a life of deep respect for the Lord, then all life’s concerns and challenges get filtered through the knowledge and wisdom of God so that clear understanding can rule your dilemmas and unexpected troubles. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”.