The Daily Word of Righteousness

Dwelling in the Land

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. (Psalms 37:3—NIV)

Try to do some good each day. Ask God to help you do good. Go into the office or shop and pick out something good to do to somebody. Be a peacemaker. The world is full of troublemakers. Make peace among people and you will be called a son of God.

Unless God directs you otherwise, stay where you are and make it work. People move from place to place hoping to find their Utopia. You'll never find it. Pastures look greener from a distance only because you are looking at the grass sideways.

You are in this world to learn certain lessons. When you move to another place the angels put your curriculum in their briefcases and move with you. Your lessons continue wherever you are. Now you have to find a new barber, an auto mechanic you can trust, get a new telephone number and so forth. But the same old lessons continue as before.

Stay put! Did you ever eat fruit off a tumbleweed?

Trust God. Keep on doing good, and dwell in the land. If you do this you will find that God will faithfully keep you. When you lay down at night the Lord will be your security.

Terrifying days are ahead. When you go to bed at night you will be filled with fear of what we are facing. Memorize the following verse. You will need it in days to come.

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (Psalms 4:8—NIV)

"You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."

I realize this truth more than ever. One night I was "safe in my bed." I was covered with the blankets.

About eleven o'clock something woke me up. My face felt unusual and so I got up and looked in the mirror. My left eye was all red and swollen. I went to the emergency room and they gave me some kind of pills.

About a month later I noticed a dead tarantula underneath the heater. A tarantula! We have black widows around here but this is the first tarantula I have seen.

Can you imagine! I was a safe as a man can be—in my own bed and covered with the blankets. But there was no safety there, just as there is no safety in their bed for those in countries ruled by terrorists.

"You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."

You may crawl into your warm bed at night; you may be in a narrow bunk on a ship; you may be sleeping under a tree in India; you may be on the floor in an overcrowded jail. It is all the same. Evil is always present, but so is the Lord if you are trusting Him.

You can survive by depending on God's faithfulness. Only the Lord can keep you safe—and He shall if you trust in Him, keep on doing good, and stay where God has put you.