For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
-Psalm 84:11 (ESV)
Psalm 84:11 has, in many ways, been my “life verse” in 2020, a precious truth that I have found myself returning to time and time again. At the beginning of the year, when I encountered stubborn sickness and sudden heartbreak, these words assured me that my circumstances – what I felt I had lost – did not represent God’s withholding good from me. Far from it, actually. I came to realize that the events which I considered “loss” or “bad” were in fact expressions of God’s “favor” and “honor,” “good thing[s]” designed to bring me closer to himself, the source of all goodness.
Then the pandemic hit. In times of isolation and idleness, it has been easy for me to doubt God’s goodness as I spin counterfactual realities in my head, bemoaning the loss of irreplaceable Dartmouth rites of passage, time with friends I love, and other features of pre-pandemic life. But God has been reminding me that in this too, he has not been withholding good. Because he is good, and he has not ceased to reveal himself or provide access to his presence. In fact, I have found isolation and stillness often providing me the conditions and impetus to more actively seek God’s presence.
Perhaps you have also found yourself doubting God’s goodness in 2020. I want to be sensitive to the fact that there may be those in our community who have lost far more this year than I can even imagine. But I believe this promise speaks indiscriminately to all: God has not, and will not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly. He’s not a miserly scrooge but a generous Father who desires to give his children the highest good – himself. This, I believe, is the key to understanding this verse: if God is a “sun,” as the psalmist describes, the source of all good, then it is most good for us to be near and to know God. God may use suffering and pain to bring his children closer to himself: look no further than Jesus to see this demonstrated (Hebrews 2:10, 5:8). But what is the result of this suffering? Endurance, character, hope, and the assurance of God’s love (Romans 5:1-5). Steadfastness and completeness (James 1:2). In other words, the good things promised in Psalm 84:11.
But wait, does this promise apply to me? You may have noticed this promise comes with a qualifier: God does not withhold good from those who walk uprightly. Other English translations describe the recipients of this promise as “those whose walk is blameless” (NIV) or “those who walk with integrity” (NASB). As I wrestled with this question myself, I was led to consider the one figure in the Bible whose walk is unquestionably upright, blameless, and filled with integrity––Jesus. Indeed, during this Christmas season, Christians celebrate that God did not withhold Jesus from a sinful humanity who could never walk uprightly on its own moral strength. Jesus lived the blameless life that we could never live and died the painful death that we deserved, rising again that we might share in his new life and righteousness. The good news of Christmas is that God did not withhold himself from humanity and that through Jesus, we can become the recipients of this promise. Through Jesus, we can know and live in relationship with God who is our sun and shield, who bestows favor and honor, who does not withhold good. This Christmas week, I invite you to reflect on God’s good gift of Jesus and how that is good news for you and your loved ones, today.
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
-Romans 8:32 (ESV)
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