May 01 – HAPPINESS AND GOODNESS !

“When you eat the labour of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you” (Psalm 128:2).

Psalms 127 and 128 are inter-connected , and they both talk about family blessings, blessings upon children and about prosperity. There are many who always think of eternal blessings and miss sight of the worldly blessings. They think only of life eternal and waste away their earthly life.

But the Scripture talks clearly about worldly life and life eternal, and the excellence of both lives. Goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life. And you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The psalmist writes about the blessings of life in this world and life eternal. The key verse of the day says: “When you eat the labour of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you”.

It is the will and pleasure of the Lord that your home should be blessed. You should eat the labour of your hands; and it should not be grabbed by others.

When you build your family with the Lord as the head, He will pour out His love and bind the whole family with His fellowship. Family-prayers and reading of Scripture together are missing in many families; nor are the children raised in the fear of God. And because of this, they get into various sufferings and trials later in their lives.

Every member of the family – whether it is the husband, wife or children – each of them has a role to play, for a godly fellowship within the family. But the husband – the head of the family, has the most important role. The husband should take upon himself the spiritual responsibility of teaching the children and bring them up in Christian values.

The Scripture says: “For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children” (Psalm 78:5). “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Children of God, please be watchful about your children’s friends, the kind of books & magazines they read, the kind of programs they watch and how they spend their time and their activities.

Verse for further meditation: “The Lord bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life” (Psalm 128:5).