#DailyDevotion Can You Expect The Blessings Of Giving To The Poor To Be Fulfilled?
Psalm 41 Blessed is he who treats the poor with understanding. When trouble comes, may the LORD rescue him. 2May the LORD protect him and keep him alive. May he enjoy happiness in the land, and not be surrendered to the greed of his enemies. 3May the LORD strengthen him on his sickbed –sustain him on his bed and overthrow his sickness!
This first part of this Psalm deals with a common theme in the Bible concerning how the LORD looks upon the poor and those who treat the poor well. In Deut. 15 it is written, “7“If in any of your towns in the land the LORD your God is giving you there is a fellow Israelite who is poor, don’t harden your heart and shut your hand against another poor Israelite, 8but be open-handed to him, and lend him enough for anything he needs.” and “11Since there will always be poor people in the country, I order you: Be open-handed to poor and needy fellow Israelites in your country.”
In Proverbs 14 it says, “ 31If you oppress the poor, you insult his Maker, but if you’re kind to the poor, you honor Him.” In chapter 19 of the same it says, “17When you’re kind to the poor, you lend to the LORD, and He’ll pay you back for what you do.”
So there are promises the LORD makes to us concerning how we treat the poor, particularly fellow poor Christians. If we treat them with understanding, if we give to them without interest, if we don’t keep a pledge overnight that he needs to keep his life, then the LORD will bless us. We can be certain He will rescue us in the day of trouble. He will protect us and keep us alive. These “mays” here are not mere wishes. They are blessings which the LORD will bring about. If we are generous to the poor, we should expect happiness and not be subject to those who are greedy among us. We should expect the LORD to be with us in illness and sickness.
Don’t let the tempter fool you into thinking about how you need to be responsible with your money and interrogate the poor to make sure they are going to use the money properly. Don’t let him deceive you into thinking you won’t have enough for tomorrow if you give today. We are not to pray for tomorrow’s bread but for daily bread. Your hand will be fulfilling the prayer of the poor man for daily bread. The LORD didn’t say worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow may never come. You take care of today and its worries. Take care of the worries of today’s poor. You will be blessed.
4I say, “O LORD, be kind to me. Heal me — I have sinned against you.”
Confession is always a good thing for us. Perhaps after reviewing the LORD’s blessings on those who take care of the poor, the psalmist realizes he has sinned against the LORD by not being generous towards them. He did not open his hand when he heard their cry. It is a good time now perhaps to confess our own sin in this matter. We need the LORD Jesus Christ to heal our hearts and souls as we have inflicted them with our own fear and greed. When we realize our own pitiful situation before the LORD that we too are indeed beggars before Him needing the riches of His righteousness, holiness, mercy and kindness and confess such, and make use of it ourselves, then we can open our hands which begged of the LORD mercy and be merciful to those whose cries enter our ears.
Heavenly Father, give us faith to be generous to the poor with the wealth You have given us, even as You have been generous towards us with Your grace, mercy, kindness, love and forgiveness in Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.