An Ounce of Prevention

Daily Reading: Psalm 21

Psalm 21:1-3 “The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! (2) Thou has given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah. (3) For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.”

This is interesting that in verse three he says that the king is prevented with blessings of goodness. Prevented from what? That’s my first question, but beyond that…He uses blessings of goodness to do the preventing. I sort of like that thought. I’ll assume that the king is being prevented from some show of power and might, possibly an impending battle with a foreign ruler who needed some discipline. I think that God prevents the king so that He can do what He wants to do in certain situations. The cool thing is that God prevents him with blessings of goodness. Picture it…”Oh, we can’t go to battle today, we’ve just been given the first place award for best overall landscaping in an undeveloped region of Southwest Asia. We have a lot of luncheons to plan and there’s just no time for those pesky Philistines for at least a month.”

I think God often prevents us still with blessings of goodness. How much simpler it is for us to obey when we are distracted. I’m busy enjoying my husband, son and the responsibility of our lives together and don’t have time to meddle in other people’s affairs at times. I’ve noticed at times I get what I ask for and then don’t have time for other people. Maybe God was giving me what I wanted so I’d stay out of other people’s business and allow Him to work. I sometimes feel guilty that I don’t do more for people, but then I read things like this and realize…there is a time and a place for a helping hand. Sometimes God wants us to reach out and sometimes He wants us to stay out. It’s not something I can discern on my own…I need the Holy Spirit to show me when to do something and when to allow the blessings of goodness to prevent my interventions. It takes faith too. It’s hard to sit back and allow prayer to do its work. Prayer is one of the quickest things we do, and one of the most interrupted methods of solving problems. We send out our requests and then run after them to make sure they get done. Enjoy the prevention…enjoy the roadblocks…they are blessings of goodness to you and to the poor soul you were about to help.