https://esv.literalword.com/?q=Psalm+112;+Job+23
Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Sunday, 22 February 2026:
Psalm 112:1-5 — Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments!
Psalm 112 describes the visible fruit of a life rooted in reverent trust. The blessed person delights greatly in God’s commandments. Delight is not reluctant obedience; it is joyful alignment. What you delight in reveals what you treasure. When you delight in the LORD, what He requires becomes what you truly desire, because you love Him and want what He wants, but also because you fully appreciate that what He wants is only what is perfect and best. “Your will be done,” is the place where you will be willing to do what you currently would never choose to do within your own will power so God can grow you past who you currently are closer to who you ought to be in Christ. Growth is uncomfortable – There is not growth in the comfort zone and there is no comfort in the growth zone.
The psalm does not promise a trouble-free life. It describes a stabilized life — a heart anchored beyond circumstance. In fact, God explains we should be thankful in all of our circumstances because we are experiencing God’ will for our lives (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and God’s will for our lives. Often the problem is we really don’t want God’s will for our lives, which is to conform us to Christlike character as we increasingly become one with Him (Romans 8:29, John 17:22, 23). What does Christlike character look like? Loving enemies, forgiving without end, washing the feet of our betrayers, exchanging blessings for curses, taking up our crosses daily as we seek forgiveness for the crucifiers. But how do you develop that sort of character without plenty of enemies, betrayers, difficult circumstances, and crucifiers – all the things we are usually praying God will take out of our lives? You can only become grateful for these things if you appreciate what God is doing with these things and desire the outcome He promises us through them – oneness with Him.
Psalm 112:3, 5 — Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever… It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice… He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever…
Psalm 112:6-9 — For the righteous will never be moved… He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord… He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor….
True faith makes you resolute. Confident in hard times. Steady. Fearless. Forgiving. Giving.
Why is the righteous person firm-hearted and unafraid — what has happened, what is happening, what will happen, or what might happen? Because he or she trusts God. The “righteous” person understands they stand in right relationship with God through Christ. Justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). That peace is not fragile. It is covenantal. It rests on finished work, not fluctuating circumstance.
If the Sovereign Almighty Father loves you enough to give up His Son for you, if He counts every hair on your head, what ultimately can threaten you? In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence (Proverbs 14:26). God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7). The Lord is my helper; I will not fear (Hebrews 13:6).
This is why the righteous can face bad news without collapse. Faith is trusting God in the present. Hope is faith projected forward – trusting God with future outcomes. Love is abiding in God’s love and bearing fruit from it. When you truly believe God is sovereign, loving, and actively working all things toward His perfect purpose (Romans 8), anxiety loses its authority.
Psalm 112:3, 5, 9 — Wealth and riches are in his house… It is well with the man who deals generously and lends… He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.
These verses are often misunderstood. This is not “name it and claim it” theology. It is not a formula for guaranteed affluence. The psalm is not promising that every righteous person will accumulate visible prosperity. It is describing a pattern: when God entrusts wealth to a righteous heart, that wealth becomes a channel, not a reservoir.
Notice the emphasis. Wealth is mentioned, but generosity defines the person. The righteous man lends. He conducts his affairs with justice. He distributes freely. He gives to the poor. His righteousness endures forever — not his riches. The permanence lies in character, not in cash flow.
Throughout Scripture, God often entrusts material abundance to those He can trust to steward it for His purposes. Abraham, Joseph, David, Solomon — their wealth was not merely personal blessing but covenant instrument. It revealed God’s glory and advanced God’s purposes. Wealth in righteous hands becomes ministry.
From the beginning, God placed humanity in unmerited abundance — the Garden — and commanded them to work, be fruitful, multiply, and exercise dominion under His dominion. Prosperity was never about indulgence; it was about stewardship. Ownership belongs to God. Management belongs to man.
Money itself is morally neutral. It amplifies the condition of the heart that holds it. In greedy hands it corrupts; in surrendered hands it multiplies blessing. If wealth is your goal, it will likely master you. If generosity is your goal, wealth can become a tool.
There is a sobering implication: if God cannot trust you with little, He will not entrust you with much. If wealth would strengthen pride or independence, withholding it is mercy. But a heart that longs to give, to relieve suffering, to expand good, to bless others — that heart can handle abundance because it does not worship it.
Jesus’ vine-and-branches imagery clarifies this. Branches bear fruit, but they do not consume the fruit. They exist to produce it. The fruit is for others. The branch’s fulfillment is not in possession, but in participation. So it is with wealth. When connected to the Vine, resources flow through us, not to us.
The question is not, “How much do I have?” The question is, “What does my giving reveal about my trust?” Do you see yourself as provider, or as steward? Do you conduct your affairs with justice? Do you distribute freely?
God may give wealth as blessing. But He always gives it as responsibility.
A righteous heart is not proven by accumulation, but by distribution.
And the fruit of that steady heart is generosity.
“He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor.” It takes genuine faith to give and forgive. Giving is not fundamentally about surplus; it is about trust. Do you believe you must secure your future, or that God will provide beyond what you can imagine? Give, and it will be given to you (Luke 6:38). God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). The Macedonians gave beyond their means because they first gave themselves to the Lord (2 Corinthians 8:3–5).
Forgiveness works the same way. You forgive not because the other person deserves it, but because you know you have received immeasurable grace. Be kind… forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32). Without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).
How you handle challenges, how you forgive, and how you give reveal what you really believe about God. Does your confidence in trial testify to the gospel? Does your generosity reflect your security in Christ? Does your forgiveness show that you trust God as Defender?
Psalm 112:10 — The wicked man sees it and is angry….
The ungodly may resent your stability. They may gnash their teeth at your peace. But they are no factor. Their anger does not alter your standing. The desire of the wicked will perish. Your security is not dependent on their approval.
Job 23:1-9 — Oh, that I knew where I might find him….
Job longs for God’s presence. He wants an audience. He wants explanation. Yet God appears silent.
Silence does not mean absence. It often means testing. During an exam, the teacher is silent. Job’s struggle is not ignorance of God’s existence, but absence of God’s immediate response.
Faith persists even when God does not answer on demand.
Job 23:6 — Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; he would pay attention to me.
In His omnipotence, God has no need to contend with anyone to defend Himself, His honor, or His interests. He is not threatened. He is not insecure. He does not posture. He does not escalate. He does not react defensively. His will stands without strain. What He purposes will be accomplished.
Job recognizes something profound here: if God were to engage him, it would not be in crushing force but in attentive justice. The Almighty does not need to overwhelm in order to win. He listens. That is not weakness; it is sovereign strength. Only perfect power can afford patient attention.
Human anger, bitterness, and manipulation arise from insecurity. James explains that quarrels and conflicts come from selfish desires at war within us. Rage and dishonesty are not demonstrations of strength; they are admissions of fear. People resort to psychological weapons to control what they cannot control and to seize what God has not given. In contrast, God governs without anxiety.
True strength does not need to dominate. It is steady enough to love.
John 13 provides the clearest embodiment of this principle. Before washing the disciples’ feet — including the feet of His betrayer — John explains that Jesus knew the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come from God and was going back to God. Complete security in the Father’s providence produced humble service. Because He knew who He was and where He was going, He had no need to assert power. He simply loved.
Job anticipates this reality in shadow. God’s greatness does not express itself in intimidation, but in attentive justice and covenant faithfulness. Omnipotence and compassion are not opposites; they are united in Him.
The insecure contend. The sovereign listens. The fearful grasp. The secure love.
Job 23:10-12 — But he knows the way that I take… I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
This is one of the most revealing statements in the book.
Job treasured God’s Word more than food. He understood that life is sustained not merely by bread, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). His resilience in suffering was not accidental; it was cultivated over years of obedience.
Remember how we were introduced to Job: blameless, upright, fearing God, shunning evil. God Himself commended him. That kind of stability does not develop overnight. It is formed through habitual submission to Scripture.
Today, many are physically overfed and spiritually malnourished. Bread is abundant; the Word is neglected. Some prefer books about the Bible rather than the Bible itself. But the Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). All Scripture is breathed out by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth (John 17:17).
Jesus silenced opponents by knowing the tense of a verb (Matthew 22:23-33). He responded to temptation with Scripture. He lived by the Word because He is the Word.
Do you treasure God’s Word more than your food? One practical discipline: do not eat before you pray and study. Train your appetite to hunger for what sustains your soul.
The Spirit gives life; the flesh is no help at all (John 6:63). Do not muddy clear water with secondary opinions (Ezekiel 34:18-19). Abide in the Word, and let the Spirit apply it.
Job 23:13-17 — He is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?
Job affirms God’s sovereignty even while trembling beneath it. God is unchangeable. His purposes stand. This terrifies Job and steadies him simultaneously. Faith does not deny fear; it anchors beyond it.
Job 23:13-16 — But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does….
Job reflects on the immutability and sovereignty of God — and it terrifies him. God is unchangeable. His purposes are not negotiable. No one can redirect Him. What He appoints, He completes. His will is not subject to revision or appeal.
From Job’s vantage point, this is overwhelming. If the Almighty has ordained his present suffering, then there is no higher court to which he can appeal. The One who appoints also accomplishes. That reality causes Job’s heart to faint.
Sovereignty without assurance of love feels crushing. To stand before absolute omnipotence while unsure of divine affection would be unbearable. Infinite power without revealed mercy would inspire dread, not devotion. Job feels the weight of that tension.
But the cross resolves what Job could only fear. At Calvary, the unchangeable sovereignty of God and the immeasurable love of God meet in perfect harmony. The same God who cannot be turned back chooses to give Himself. The One who accomplishes all He appoints appoints redemption. The will that cannot be resisted ordains salvation.
The cross proves that God’s sovereign purposes are not arbitrary; they are redemptive. His omnipotence is not cold force; it is covenantal love. He did not spare His own Son. Therefore, we need not dread His sovereignty — it is exercised for the good of those who love Him.
When sovereignty is joined to proven love, fear is transformed into reverent awe. The combination should fill us with love, joy, peace, gratitude, and contentment. If the Almighty rules all things and has demonstrated His heart toward us through Christ, then nothing that touches our lives escapes loving governance.
Job trembled because he knew God’s power but could not yet see the cross.
We stand on the other side of that revelation. The unchangeable God is the God who gave Himself. The unstoppable will is the will that secured our reconciliation.
Power without love terrifies. Love with sovereign power secures.
When you consider His unchangeable sovereignty through the lens of the cross, dread gives way to worship.
Job 23:25-27 (19:25-27) — I know that my Redeemer lives….
Job’s hope climaxes in resurrection confidence. He longs for his words to be recorded because he knows vindication will come. His Redeemer lives. In his flesh he will see God. This is astonishing faith from one of the oldest books in Scripture. The prophets longed to see what we now see clearly. Job anticipated the living Redeemer without knowing His name. His hunger for God’s Word flowed from hope in a living God. And when suffering intensified, he turned toward God, not away. Though He slay me, I will hope in Him (Job 13:15). His faith was not spontaneous emotion. It was cultivated conviction.
Be sanctified through the Word. Strengthened through the Word. Prepared through the Word. Sustained through the Word. Let the Spirit use the living Word to draw you to the Living Word — Jesus Christ. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) — 22 February 2026: Today, demonstrate steadiness rooted in Scripture. Before you consume food, consume God’s Word. When difficult news comes, respond with trust, not panic. Give something generously. Forgive someone fully. Let your confidence, generosity, and mercy visibly testify that your Redeemer lives and that your treasure is secure.
Pray: “Father, make my heart firm because it trusts in You. Anchor me in right relationship through Christ so that bad news does not shake me. Increase my hunger for Your Word more than my hunger for bread. Form in me a faith that produces generosity and forgiveness. When You seem silent, remind me that You are sovereign and near. Thank You that my Redeemer lives. Let my life visibly reflect steady trust, enduring hope, and active love. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 