Psalm 37:14-25

14 The wicked draw the sword

    and bend the bow

to bring down the poor and needy,

    to slay those whose ways are upright.

15 

But their swords will pierce their own hearts,

    and their bows will be broken.

16 

Better the little that the righteous have

    than the wealth of many wicked;

17 

for the power of the wicked will be broken,

    but the Lord upholds the righteous.

18 

The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,

    and their inheritance will endure forever.

19 

In times of disaster they will not wither;

    in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

20 

But the wicked will perish:

    Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,

    they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.

21 

The wicked borrow and do not repay,

    but the righteous give generously;

22 

those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,

    but those he curses will be destroyed.

23 

The Lord makes firm the steps

    of the one who delights in him;

24 

though he may stumble, he will not fall,

    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

25 

I was young and now I am old,

    yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken

    or their children begging bread.

Message Notes

When you are committed to the will of God,

everybody who started with you will not stay with you.

Some people are committed to you,

but not committed to the God in you.

Obedience to God is never betrayal of people,

it is alignment with purpose.

1 Peter 3 and 9 says:

“9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing,

because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

10 For, ‘Whoever would love life

and see good days

must keep their tongue from evil

and their lips from deceitful speech.

11 They must turn from evil and do good;

they must seek peace and pursue it.

12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?

14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear their threats;

do not be frightened.’”

God does not start what He will not sustain.

You are not held together by your strength,

you are held together by God’s faithfulness.