Psalm 92 declares that the righteous will “flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him” (Psalm 92:13b-15).

What leads to that type of flourishing – flourishing not for a day or a year or even a decade, but flourishing in delight in God, in proclaiming His goodness and His support, through the end of your life, even if you should live to 90 or 100? That is: What can you do today to bring about such flourishing many years in the future?

In Sunday’s sermon on this psalm we considered its exhortations to give thanks to God, to praise Him for His love and faithfulness and justice, to sing to Him, to recall His works, and to remember how far He is above us. Indeed, the psalmist tells us it is good to “declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night” (Psalm 92:2). That is, we should make such declarations at all times.

In summary, I suggested we consider doing so also in the morning and evening of our lives – when we are young and old. We thus can commit ourselves to the discipline of daily declarations – stating four reminders every day that encourage us to depend on Him and not on ourselves.

The following four declarations are based on Romans 11:33-36 as well as Psalm 92:

• First: I can never be God’s counselor – His wisdom is far beyond me. So when oftentimes feeling as if I know better than God how to run the world, or my country, or my life, or the lives of my loved ones, I will humbly acknowledge that He is all wise, and I am not.
• Second: Everything good in my life is mine only because of Jesus, for I deserve only condemnation. All of us from the time of Adam – except Jesus – do not deserve even to take a single breath. Apart from God’s plan of redemption through His Son, Adam and Eve would have died upon their rebellion against God. To live, to breath, to eat, to grow, to see God’s creation, to have any joy or pleasure – these are all undeserved gifts. And the greatest gift is to be welcomed into God’s intimate family through the sacrifice of Jesus. He is the source of all that is good, whether in us or around us.
• Third: All those who seem to thrive by turning their backs on Jesus will perish. Though they may flourish for a while, God raises them up only to bring them down – either in this life or in eternity. This reminder guards me from self-pity and envy – what we have in Christ far outweighs any lack we may experience that comes from following Him – and prompts me to witness to His grace.
• Fourth: I will flourish today and forever only by depending on Him – He is my rock. My task is to depend actively on Him, to turn to Him, to pray to Him, to remind myself of the promises that are all Yes in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20). Apart from Him I can do nothing (John 15:5). This declaration helps protect me from self-righteousness and any sense of superiority over others. As the Apostle Paul says, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).

I encourage you to modify these or add to them to effectively fight the fight of faith, the fight to depend on God through Jesus. May we all endure in joy in the Lord to the end of this present life – whether that’s tomorrow, next year, or many decades in the future.