Memo 1117: Protecting Your Abundant Life
There are other lessons to be learned about David from his psalms, but this entry will conclude our series titled PowerPoints for Living the Abundant Life. Our objective has been to identify elements in David's life that we can apply in
our own pursuit of God's will. In some ways, Psalm 37 like the perfect place to end, for it gives us a number of points to consider that are consistent with our series' theme. Let's look at some of them this week.
DAVID'S LIFE PHILOSOPHY
In Psalm 37, David summarized many of this life themes that are found throughout the psalms (all quotes are from the NLT):
- "Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong" (37:1).
- "Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper" (37:3).
- "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires" (37:4).
- "Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you" (37:5).
- "Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm" (37:8).
- "The wicked borrow and never repay; but the godly are generous givers" (37:21).
- "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives" (37:23).
- "Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever" (37:27).
- "The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong" (37:30).
- "The Lord rescues the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble. The Lord helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him" (37:39-40).
If you want to live an abundant life, then follow David's life philosophy in those ten points that will be our PowerPoint for Living this week:
Don't worry, trust Him, do good, take delight in God, don't be angry over wrongs against you or others, be generous, walk with confidence, be a source of wisdom for others, and make God your shelter in tough times.
ONE THING
As we close this series, the one thing that stands out to me is that there will be opposition when you attempt to live the abundant life for you—whatever that looks like. It will vary according to your purpose, gifts, and values, but the one common thread is the enemies you will have to face to find and keep that life. Paul gave us his own list of things, this time made of things that come against us that cannot separate us from the abundant life Jesus gives us. The one thing not on his list is your own decision to surrender that life by ignoring or violating David's life philosophy described above. Here's what Paul had to say:
What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:29-39 NLT).
Have a blessed week!