The Reward
“I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”
(Psalm 91:16, NLT)
We all hope to live a long, satisfying, meaningful life. It’s a natural desire. My great-grandmother lived to be 104 and a half (my mother always reminds me). That’s a long, meaningful life. My grandmother lived to be 95. Both, I’m sure would tell you they had their fair share of struggles and hardships, but their lives were very meaningful with family. They both lived a long life.
This is the final installment looking deeper into Psalm 91. We come to the final verse, Psalm 91:16:
“I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”
The movement of this last line is like a crescendo. It describes our ultimate and final victory.
“I will reward them”
God promises a long life to the person who trusts Him and loves Him. It could be here on earth, it could be in eternity. This verse is a promise that secures our future but it also starts now.
“and give them my salvation”
According to Strong’s Concordance, salvation is translated to mean deliverance and that’s often what we first think of when we see or hear that word. But salvation is not just about a ticket to heaven. There is a richness and fullness of this promise. Strong’s concordance also describes salvation as health, healing, rescue, safety, protection, provision, security, and victory.
This ultimate victory moves us beyond the intellectual knowledge of salvation to a very personal promise of a loving relationship with God. And within that comes protection, safety, security, VICTORY.
My hope and prayer is that you will make this Psalm a practice to read and absorb. But don’t just read it – behold it. Behold it to take hold of the promises God has given us and make it your own. Don’t just read this Psalm with your eyes, BEHOLD it with your lives.
Prayer: Father, we turn our hearts to You, and we are so thankful that we can call on You and You will be there. Thank You that You answer us. Thank you that You are with us in times of trouble. We praise You and thank You for who You are. As we read this Psalm, Lord, open our eyes and help us to behold the truths and promises of Your word. Help us to make these promises our own and live them out in Jesus name, Amen.
Praying for you today that God will open your eyes and help you BEHOLD the truths to this powerful Psalm. Bless someone today and encourage them, as I hope you’ve been encouraged.
–Christine Batchelder