Day 272: Psalm 37:5-6

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun." ~Psalm 37:5-6, NIV

Hey look! It's another if/then statement found in the Old Testament!

Let's go on a tangent for a moment. It would seem, with all of these "if you do this, then God will do that" moments, that we can control God by our actions, doesn't it? If we do all of the if statements, then shouldn't God fulfill all of the then statements?

Let's try to analyze this and see why we should expect the then statements to be fulfilled, but that it's not a prerequisite.

One, acting with the above kind of mindset is dangerous - people refer to it as "magic". It is essentially an attempt to manipulate external/supernatural forces in your favor, isn't it? And God strictly  forbids His people from using magic. So we can't do this.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the "then statement" isn't a given. It's more like a "then probably" statement. God wants us to fulfill the if statement because we love Him, not because we want His blessings.

He wants us to commit to Him and trust Him because we believe in Him, and because we want to serve Him and love Him as best as we can. He knows that if we do so that He will be able to do great works in our lives - and our reward will shine, and His forgiveness will be great over us. But we are not entitled to it. It is all, in the end, a gift that God can choose to give to us, or not.

Is God still good if He doesn't give it to us? Yes, yes He is. Is your dad still good to you if he doesn't let you have everything you feel entitled to? Yes, of course! A three-year-old feels entitled to many things, but we only give him what will make him a better human, right?

So make sure you analyze your motivations - commit your ways to Him because you love Him, and you don't want to dishonor Him by living in fear. Use your judgement; test for yourself the validity of your motivations.