The Steps of a Good Man are Ordered

By Rev. Harold Mauldin

 

 

 
Psalms 37: 23-26 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand. I have been young and am now old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful and lendeth and his seed is blessed.

Psalms 199: 105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

God's desire is to walk with us. He has ordered our path, watched our steps and kept us from danger. He wants communion and fellowship with us. When you are walking according to the will of God, He will direct your path and give you direction. God's way is always the right way. He knows where He is going. He knows the end from the beginning. The greatest thing you can have going for you in your Christian walk is to have God order your steps.

In Genesis 3, we find the voice of God walking in the cool of the Day. When God made Adam, He ordered his steps. He put Adam in the garden to keep it and to dress it. God also gave him direction. He told him not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life was also put in Eden. God's voice enjoyed walking with Adam in the cool of the day. Relationship was established between the two. God revealed Himself and Adam shared his life story with His creator. They were in fellowship one with the other.

However, when Adam sinned, communication with the Father changed. No longer would God's voice come in the cool of the day. Fellowship was never the same between Adam and His Dad. God would no longer walk with Adam in the cool of the day. Order was broken. God wants fellowship with His kids. That's exactly why He came to earth to die for our sins. He wants to restore fellowship with us so He can walk with us again. We love to talk about what we want from God but what does God want from us? He loves worship but that's not all. He wants praise but it does not totally satisfy. So what does God really want from His people? He wants relationship. He wants to walk with us and if He does, He wants to be in charge. Let God order your steps.

In our walk with God, we sometimes fall short in what we need to be. The problem is, we somehow feel removed from God because of our failures. But, according to this scripture, when we fall we shall not be cast down. God will uphold us with His hand. He will never leave us. Our steps are ordered. If God has begun a work in you, He will complete it till the day of the Lord. Order my steps, Lord.

Before anybody can walk, they must first learn how to do something very important. They must learn how to stand. We are living in a generation of people who don't want to take a stand. Paul said in Ephesians 6: 10-18, to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. He tells the Ephesians to put on the whole armour of God to withstand the evil day and take a stand. What are we to stand with?

1) Loins girt about with truth: All things start with truth. If your foundation is not truth, what are you standing on. Big difference between a playground and a church.

2) Breastplate of righteousness: Righteousness is rightness with God, it is imputed. You are either righteous or unrighteous. There is no middle ground. God wants us to walk with a righteous heart for Him.

3) Feet shod with preparation of gospel of peace: The word gospel literally means "good news". The path you walk dictates where you are going. Take a stand for where you are going and God will direct your path and give peace to your home.

4) Shield of faith: We would never know how to walk by faith if we didn't have obstacles in our lives. We walk by faith and not by sight.

5) Helmet of salvation: You better know that the truth you stand for is right. As a man thinketh, so is he. Your brain better not be fried with junk to hinder you. Salvation is not open for debate or discussion. Truth needs no props, it needs no help. Truth will stand when all else fails. What do you believe in? Salvation is what we are, who we are and how we are introduced to Him.

6) Sword of Spirit: The only offensive weapon I have is the word. Hide it in your heart. Use it when trouble comes. It is a lamp to us. It lights our way. Take a stand on the word and stop this trivial junk the enemy throws your way. Whenever he wants to fight, use the word.

 

Verse 18 sums it up when it says to pray always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit. The Lord orders the steps of a good man!

Psalms 37 paints a picture of the difference between a good man and an evil man.

Evil man:

1) cut down like grass

2) wither like herbs

3) shall be cut off

4) plots against the just

5) kills

6) arms shall be broken

7) shall perish

8) borrows and does not pay back

9) seeds shall be cut off

10) seeks to slay the righteous

Good man:

1) trusts in the Lord

2) delights in the Lord

3) commits his ways to God

4) rests in the Lord

5) shall inherit the earth

6) they shall be satisfied even in famine

7) has an eternal inheritance

8) has his steps ordered by the Lord

9) he shall not be cast down even when he falls

10) is upheld by the hand of the Lord

11) never forsaken or begging bread

12) shall be exalted

God will delight in us if we commit ourselves to Him. Take a stand!! Let God order your steps. Watch God do some stuff that will amaze you.

 

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