For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. – Psalm 84:11
I came across this verse recently while doing a study on the phrase “good thing.” I can think of several times in the Bible where God calls things “good.” In Genesis, He pronounces His creation as good. He tells us in Psalms that it is a good thing to give thanks. In Romans 8:28, we are told that …all things work together for good…
In looking at Psalm 84:11, we find so many more truths than just the word “good.”
For the LORD God is a sun and shield:…
God promises us His light and protection. As a science teacher, I teach about the sun and that it is, scientifically speaking, the source of all the energy on Earth. As Christians, our Source of strength is God. While literally nothing would happen on Earth without the sun, we similarly can do nothing good or lasting without getting God’s strength. The Lord is our Shield of protection from the devil and from the everyday trials of life.
…the LORD will give grace and glory:…
God gives us grace to endure trials and hardships, while also allowing glory to come through them. Looking back on our lives, each of us can see how God gave us the grace we needed throughout different circumstances, how God used those difficult circumstances to bring glory to His name, and how He allowed us to be a blessing or encouragement to others because of them.
…no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
While each phrase in this verse is encouraging in its own way, this particular phrase is probably my favorite part of the verse. First of all, notice the words, …them that walk uprightly. The dictionary defines “uprightly” as, “in an honest, responsible, and moral way.”We cannot be upright and moral unless we are behaving according to God’s standards of those words. If we meet the standards of the end of that verse, we can trust that the beginning of that statement is also true: …no good thing will he withhold from them… I see two encouraging truths in this statement. The first is obvious: He will give us good things. The second is that when He withholds something from us, He is doing so out of His care and protection for us. How wonderful it is to know that, if I am doing right, I can trust Him to give me exactly what I need and hold back that which could harm me!
How great it is to trust our heavenly Father who promises His blessings on us, His love for us, and His protection over us!
by Vicki Voorhis