Traits of the Righteous
Happy New Year, everyone! I’m back after a month long hiatus and am so happy about all the things happening. 2021 is here and I am excited! I know that 2020 brought all kinds of weirdness, new things, good and even unpleasant experiences but I am thankful to look back with fondness over the things my family was able to share in spite of the pandemic and its ripple effects.
If you’ve been following along with me for a while, you may remember my blog post talking about my 6:00 am commitment to Bible study time. It’s still going strong but I’ll confess that pregnancy fatigue has had me dragging for a little while. I’d still get up and grab my Bible but only to read through groggy eyes and a still sleepy mind. The New Year motivations and the restoration of an absolutely lovely Christmas season have me refreshed so I am now getting up and moving to the kitchen table-with my husband-by no later than 6:15 am to meet my preset coffee pot and the Lord. (It helps a ton to get up and splash my face with water first.) It is already making a world of difference!
I am still in hot pursuit of my chronological Bible reading plan. (I am simply following this Blue Letter Bible plan minus the timeline so I can chase my little rabbit trails. I just recently read through the beautiful Great Hallel of Psalms. The Great Hallel covers Psalms 111-118 of the Old Testament and is a series of continual praise! What a breath of fresh air in such a season of searching, fresh starts and unknowns!
I have to tell you, Psalm 112 grabbed me right by the heartstrings and just wont let go! ..and I hope it never does.. I cannot stop thinking about the perfect checklist it gives for what kind of traits the righteous should carry. Will you indulge me just a moment to enjoy the short passage with me by clicking the link above to to read it? *go on ahead, y’all. I’ll wait right here*
So sweet, right?! While all of the traits mentioned could be mulled over for a long stretch of time (maybe later..) I am especially convicted by Psalm 112:7.
”He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting the Lord.”
Yep. And after a year plus some of the continual influx of bad news.. the righteous are not devastated. We are to carry on, unsurprised and unhindered in our gospel mission, totally trusting that God is not shocked by our worldly circumstances (like we are) and does actually have the whole world in His hands. The victory belongs to us. There is doom pending for all of the anti-God. He will not forget justice nor will be cease to be merciful to all who fear Him.
This is outrageously convicting for me as a naturally anxious person living in this realm of time. I hope it is for you too and I truly mean that as a holy encouragement. What I have regretfully experienced and witnessed from many believers around me is a crippling fear and deep hostility toward the directions of our nation. Anxiety is NOT the anthem of the church! Ours is a cry of desperate WORSHIP because of or in spite of surrounding circumstances! We are wasting our time and energy with the useless [online] debates among ourselves. Feed the living, breathing truth of God’s Word into the world and we will see much better, more peaceable results.
As you may be considering your resolutions for 2021, I’d encourage you to visit Psalm 112 often. I’ll be using this and the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 as checkpoints for myself in future days and invite you to this as well. What better characteristics can we achieve as believers than to be fruitful and righteous children of God?