One Condition

No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly  Psalm 84:11

Uprightly – I want tov in my life – all those prosperous, useful, beneficial things that God has designed into my plan and purpose.  Amazingly, God wants to give them to me.  But there are two ends to the delivery chain – send and receive.  God wants to send, but not until I am willing to receive.  He doesn’t waste the good things.  That would defeat the whole purpose of good.  God waits until I sign the acceptance form.  Then He provides “just in time” delivery.

David tells me that acceptance form looks like tamiym, the Hebrew word for blameless, righteous and virtuous.  I walk with tamiym.  God delivers tov.  Simple, right?  All I have to do is pay attention to the right path.  God promises it.  I know it.  So, why do I have so much trouble?

What does tamiym look like?  Honesty, justice, peace, blamelessness, sincerity, genuineness, reliability, purity, faithfulness, forgiveness – sort of a summary of the attributes of the Sender.  You might be able to add a few more.  Making the list is not the critical task.  The critical task is living the list – in every moment.  There are times when I am quite certain that I am living the list.  They are joyful expressions of gratitude to the God Who enables me to enjoy His company and share His character.  Then there are other times, when the delivery of tov is not so obvious because I am not so tamiym.  In order to complete my side of the list, I need to add two more characteristics that belong only on the human end of the equation:  hope and repentance.  God does not have to hope, but I do because I live in a world where I experience the disconnect between desire and fulfillment.  God never has to repent, but I do because I fail to meet the standard of holiness.  Blessed be the Lord, He is willing for me to hope and repent.

If I had no other verse to live by, I would still be refreshed and empowered.  God truly desires to give me everything useful for my purpose.  He wants my life to be in good working condition, properly fitted into the plan.  And He wants me to walk uprightly, so much so that He is willing to help, forgive and restore.

How about you?  Are you tov hungry (Matthew 5:6)?  Then embrace an ancient motto with me:  walk uprightly.