KEY TO SUCCESS

Sis. Neena Punnen, Bahrain

Do you seek true happiness, good family relations, a comfortable job, a good future till the end of your life ???

I suggest you read Psalms 128 and find two simple but important commands that you need to follow to obtain all of the above. These commands are found in Psalm 128:1

1) Fear the Lord

2) Walk in His ways

In this context, “fear” means to have reverence, respect or godly fear. Only those who have accepted the Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour can fear the Lord. When we as believers fear the Lord, our hearts fully sense who we are, who God is and how much higher is He than us. This godly fear within our hearts will make us surrender to His will. Such hearts will always yearn to walk in God’s ways, keep His commandments and reap the benefits of being blessed abundantly. Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord; whether he is high or low, rich or poor in the world. Truly you will be happy and all shall be well with you.

Psalms 128

1. Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.

2. For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

3. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

4. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD. The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion.

5. and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.

6. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

This psalm mentions the ten-fold blessings God promises for the person who fears Him and walks in His ways. These include:

1.       They shall enjoy fruit of their labour vs. 2

2.       They shall be happy vs. 2

3.       It will be well with them vs. 2

4.       Their wives will be fruitful vs. 3

5.      Their children shall be like olive plants  vs. 3

6.       They shall be blessed of God vs. 5

7.       They shall see good vs. 5

8.       They shall be blessed all their days vs.6

9.       They shall live long lives vs. 6

10.   They shall see peace vs. 6

Interestingly the Psalm also clearly portrays the four major milestones a person crosses in his life and the order in which God has ordained the sequence of events.

First milestone : Eating the labour of his hands (vs.2) - Everyone likes to be blessed with sufficient funds for daily sustenance. This verse says that by the blessing of God, the godly shall get an honest livelihood. They shall not be forced to live upon the labours of other people. They shall have something to do and shall have strength, health and power of mind to do their jobs well. It is as much a mercy as a duty, to be able to work with quietness, and eat your own bread. They shall enjoy what they get.

Second Milestone: Marriage – thy wife (vs.3) – A person who fears the Lord and walks in His ways, will at God’s appointed time find a spouse and together they shall live in love and unity, and have abundant comfort in their family relations.

Third Milestone: Parent – thy children (vs 3) – Another privileged stage after marriage that every couple looks forward to is to become a father or a mother. The Bible says that children are a gift from God and together the parents are commanded to take up several responsibilities as outlined in the Bible to bring up the child, both in favour with God and man.

Fourth milestone: Grandparent – children’s children (vs.6) – Because the person fears the Lord and walks in His ways he shall live long on the earth. As a result, he will be blessed to see His children’s children. Even at this stage he continues to testify and influence not only his children, but furthermore his grandchildren, to walk as his father and forefathers lived – right in the sight of the Lord.

How can we produce such godly men and women for the LORD?

The moulding of such godly men and women begins at home. Surely it is the home where the foundation for producing godly men and women are laid. It is here that we as sisters find our very important role. God has placed on women many roles and responsibilities, but in the context of this Psalm she functions as a wife and as a mother.

As a Christian wife: She is to be the object of her husband’s love. The Christian wife has been portrayed as a spiritual helper in the family. This responsibility belongs to every Christian wife. In obedience, she is to be submissive to the husband, which in turn brings fulfillment, happiness and peace in the home.

Since there are to be children, the Christian wife in addition to being the husband’s helper is to be a mother.

As a Christian mother: In order to truly fulfill her God-given role within a Christian household, the mother must first love God, then her husband, and then the children. She must be committed to the family unit, and not see divorce as an option. Being a mother is a very important role that the Lord chooses to give many women. However it does say that those women whom the Lord blesses to be mothers should take their responsibility seriously. Mothers have a unique and crucially important role in the lives of their children.

For a mother to fulfill her role within a Christian household, she needs to:

1. Love her husband and her children
2. Submit to her husband’s leadership
3. Respect her husband
4. Towards the children, her responsibility is to train and develop skills and strengths, discipline them, teach the fear of the Lord, live as an example or model her own life with integrity and teach them to live what they say
5. Take care of the children’s physical needs, such as making meals, mending clothes and buy shoes, and above all
6. Teach the children spiritual truths from the Bible

It is the responsibility of the mother to provide instruction from the Holy Scriptures which are able to make a child wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus(2 Timothy 3:14, 15) No one is able to influence the young child like his own mother. She is the one who should constantly be aware of the spiritual growth in her children as she seeks the Lord’s blessings for both physical and spiritual growth.

Let me tell you dear mothers, through our love and concern for our children and with the help of the Holy Spirit through prayer, we as mothers can produce godly men and women. “Train up the child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” May we be able to rightly equip our children by teaching, training and disciplining them to fear the Lord and walk in His ways from a young age itself; especially when they live among such a wicked and a perverse generation.

Certainly, as the Lord has promised in Psalm 128, He will help our children to cross the various milestones of their life and see good all the days of their lives with godly peace.