No Good Thing Withheld

The psalmist makes a sweeping and tender promise: no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. God is pictured first as "a sun and shield", both the source of light and life that sustains us, and the protection that guards us. And then the promise: He gives grace and glory, and withholds no good thing. To His people, God is not stingy or reluctant; He is generous, holding nothing genuinely good back from those who walk with Him.

But we must let God define the word "good," or we will turn this promise into a formula for getting whatever we want. We are not always the best judges of what is good for us; in our shortsightedness we often crave things that would harm us, and grieve over the lack of things we are better off without. The promise is not that God gives us everything we desire, but that He withholds no good thing, and sometimes His withholding is itself a kindness, sparing us what would damage us. A loving father does not give his child everything the child asks for; he gives every good thing, and his "no" is as much love as his "yes."

When God seems to withhold something today, trust the promise and the Giver: if it were truly good for you, and His timing were right, He would not withhold it. He gives every good thing.