JMD Devotional 222 Psalm 128 Value Exchange

BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, to be envied) is everyone who fears, reveres, and worships the Lord, who walks in His ways and lives according to His commandments. For you shall eat [the fruit] of the labor of your hands; happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) shall you be, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the innermost parts of your house; your children shall be like olive plants round about your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord. May the Lord bless you out of Zion [His sanctuary], and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life; Yes, may you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel!

God does not promise us earthly wealth, health or happiness; but here he does promise something very significant. For the one who fears Him and walks in His ways, and lives according to His commandments, ‘it shall be well with you.’ If you seek the Lord, your values will change. What God gives freely is despised by a lost world; but cherished by the elect. We could not ask for more.

Dear God,
I used to strive to be recognized, to gain worldly success, to amount to something by man’s standards---but I was just chasing the wind. Thank You for gradually refining my goals and desires; please continue to do so as I sometimes slip back to futile thinking. May it be well with me and my loved ones, may You bless my household as we revere You and respect Your ways. Make me aware of my transgressions; lead me in righteousness. Help me to value what You value and to hate what You hate. You are my grand prize; You are my inheritance that I so long for in this life and the next. You are my joy. Abba Father.
Amen

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

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