Giver of Good Things

I hiked yesterday.

Yes. Here. In the Northeast. In the Capital Region of New York State where there is a little snow on the ground, much ice, although thawing, and where temps are predicted to be in the single digits by mid-week.

But yesterday I saw the sun!! A cloudless, blue sky and....SUN!

It reminded me of this Scripture from Psalm 84:11

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly."

And as I walked along this trail with my good friend Carla, I was thinking about the beginning of the Psalm...the part that says even the sparrow has found a home.....and the swallows a nest...and how lovely the Lord's tabernacle is......

Johnny Mark Trail
Grafton State Park19 January 

Now, this means that the tabernacle in Israel...that place of worship...was a quiet and serene place.  A peaceful place.  Because even the swallows and sparrows would build their homes there.

That's what my spiritual temperament was yearning for yesterday....a quiet and peaceful place.

and I found it in the woods of a local state park about 35 minutes east of where we live......the woods and/or mountains are my tabernacle.

As soon as we saw the sun shining on the snow, through the stately pines and tall trees, we knew we were going to enjoy the hike.  The conditions were perfect for a winter hike.  A good thing.  

Along the trail....stately trees

And that leads me to the verse from above:  He does not withhold good things for the Believer who walks uprightly. In the physical sense, we had to walk uprightly to keep the body fluid in the snow. Hiking in snow is a lot like trying to walk fast in deep sand. It's tough work!!  And we had ice to contend with.  We also had to cross a stream by rock-hopping. Not one of my favorite things to do in winter.


But hiking in a peaceful setting?? That is a good thing.  It fulfills my need for feeling close to my Savior....and since I'm a Naturalist by spiritual temperament, I really NEED to be out in creation.  I feel closest to God there in the woods, surrounded by natural beauty.  

Also, I know other things in my life are "good things". They might be financial or material things but usually, for me, they are things like time with my daughters/husband, time for breakfast with a friend, coffee chats, a symphony, a ballet, a terrific book, my pastor's sermons, praise and worship in the corporate body, my health, good, strong coffee............

and of course the best "good thing"....the Gift of Jesus.  Jesus is God's greatest gift to us...the greatest spiritual gift we can receive....and the eternal things...the things that still await us in Heaven..........

 Let's keep walking uprightly...let's strive to be holy and intimate with God.....let's walk as blameless as we can...and when we stumble (and we will!!) let's go to Him in a humility, and confess our sins and lay them at His feet............

.........and raise joyful hands in praise......

.......to the One who gives good things...........