Daily Devotional | God’s Word Blesses

I have been involved with the ministry of Today in the Word as an editor or writer almost continuously since 1993. That’s 30 years! These have been years of blessing, challenge, and transformation, as God’s Word has made and remade who I am. Even after all this time, I remain excited for each new study!

God’s Word can do the same for you. Psalms 111 and 112 are a matched pair. They both follow an acrostic pattern. The first focuses on God; the second focuses on godly people, that is, people who “fear the Lord.” Godly people “find great delight in his commands” (v. 1). In other words, the Word of God instructs and empowers them in the way of godliness. This way includes righteousness or uprightness (vv. 2, 3, 4, 6, 9), grace and compassion (v. 4), generosity and justice (vv. 5, 9), and steadfast faith (vv. 6, 7, 8). There is a particular emphasis on generosity to the poor (vv. 4, 5, 9; see also 2 Cor. 9:6–15). Having received blessings, we want to bless others.

As we walk in God’s way, we’re richly blessed, for example, with children (v. 2). The Lord might also bless us with material wealth (v. 3). Good things seem to happen for God’s people even in bad times (vv. 4–5). They stand firm in their convictions and are remembered with honor after they’re gone (vv. 6, 9). They’re not anxious when bad news or dark times come (v. 7). Instead, their faith in the Lord removes fear, makes them spiritually secure, and gives them victory over their enemies (v. 8). The psalm doesn’t say our life will be all sunshine and roses, but rather that, because the fear of the Lord is the center of the godly person’s life, He will bless them with Himself.

>> One way you can bless others as you’ve been blessed is to pass on Today in the Word to a friend. That could be via the print version, radio, website, email, or the app.