2 Corinthians 9:10:
‘He who gives the seed to the sower and turns that seed into bread to eat, will give you the seed of generosity to sow, and, for harvest, the satisfying bread of good deeds well done. The more you are enriched by God the more scope there will be for generous giving, and your gifts, administered through us, will mean that many will thank God.’
A bible commentator says that such is the character of too many in this Laodicean age: they do that which is good, but not with the heart, not with a perfect heart.
Here in Psalms 128, it calls the person who fears God ‘blessed.’ In fact, the fear of Him is the secret to a happy and fulfilling life.
All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
The definition of the verb ‘discourage’ is to deprive one of courage, hope or confidence. It is to dissuade and to obstruct one because of opposition or difficulty. It is to hinder.
Acts 16:14 says, ‘One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.’
The goal of Christianity is not only heaven, but Christlikeness now.
The Psalmist started of with ‘I will lift up my eyes to the mountains.’ This is imagery denoting how a person looks to YHWH and trust Him. ‘To the mountains’ denotes:
Proverbs 26:24, ‘He that hateth dissembleth with his lips.’