Psalms 65:11-13 says, “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.”
To crown means to encompass. It is similar to a crown placed on a tooth; it encircles a tooth from the top down. This scripture verse speaks of God’s goodness encompassing the year.
Additionally, His paths (the path He leads us down) drop fatness (overflow of abundance).
The word “drop” in this text means to distill and let fall gently, as rain or the dew falls to the earth. The idea is that wherever God goes and whatever areas of our lives He has spoken blessing over, fertility, beauty, and abundance seem to relentlessly fall along this path.
God even drops overflow and abundance upon the wilderness (deserted places) of our lives. He even gives provision in the valleys of lives as well. So, as we fully walk into all the abundance He has for us, they are not just found on the mountaintop situations of our lives. They are also found in the valley places where we are dealing with some of the hardest seasons of discouragement and frustration. These places are where it looks like nothing good has happened for a long time. Where things have been dormant or stagnant. Yet, His abundance will rain down upon us.
The word “paths” is similar to army trenches in the original language of the scripture. These trenches provide protection from enemy forces and a place of “cover” when going on the offense against adversaries. In certain cases, trench warfare is believed to be the most effective. So, God drops “fatness” or pours goodness and abundance into the trenches. It’s weighty, it’s excess, it’s more than enough. It’s more than can be explained, right in the middle of your battles.
You could say God’s paths drop, exceeding abundance. (Ephesians 3:20) In other words, He pours out His abundance in the trenches of life so bountifully that we are covered on all sides as we navigate the path He is set before us. We may be facing our hardest struggle, yet we are receiving an outpouring of God’s grace in the trenches. It has encompassed us like a swimming pool full of water.
His paths drop the good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. (Luke 6:38)
His paths drop blessings that overtake us. (Deuteronomy 28:2) You don’t have to chase down the blessings of the Lord; it will catch up with you and overtake you.
His paths drop blessings we won’t have room enough to receive (Malachi 3:10). God’s rich abundance springs up wherever His will is. It is a place where His grace is sufficient for us, and His power is perfected when we are at our weakest (2nd Corinthians 12:9).
His paths drop fatness upon the pastures of the wilderness – those places that are uncultivated.
When land is uncultivated, it has not been tilled and ready for sowing seeds. Relatively untouched land and thinly inhabited. A place of loneliness and where it seems nothing is happening.
It is a place where we have lost our dream. If the land had been cultivated, there would still be great plans for the future. But since it is uncultivated and uninhabited, it is a place in us where we have lost our vision and passion for the dream. But God is dropping the abundance of His grace in those areas of our hearts so that we can begin to birth diverse types of ministries, books, businesses, and other acts of service in the kingdom.
We didn’t feel good enough, worthy, or have a plan. Still, God is pouring out His grace and raising up ideas, strategies, wisdom, purpose, and favor to accomplish His will in those uncultivated places of our lives.
This may be hard to see or discern when all we focus on is the trauma, turmoil, chaos, disappointment, and confusion we see before us at the present moment. Yet, we must look at those things through the lenses of faith to find hope amid discomfort.
To dig even deeper. God will cause us to be blessed in places where no one would ordinarily expect blessings. Your blessings will come from unlikely sources because you chose to follow God’s path and decided to walk in faith and not fear. You chose to trust Him and not lean to your own understanding or the understanding of ABC, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, or FOX News.
God is so gracious to promise us something great, even though it will test our faith and confidence in Him. One of our biggest challenges is to take our eyes off the winds and the waves (forces working against our peace) and focus on Jesus (see Matthew 14:22-33). However, the promise, mixed with His faithfulness, should be enough for us to look for His grace in unusual places.
Because of Jesus, we can have the confidence to walk boldly an expect God’s abundant grace to be at work in our lives. He laid down His life and defeated the forces of darkness so we could fulfill the will of God. Hebrews 12:3 in the Amplified Bible says, “Just consider and meditate on Him who endured from sinners such bitter hostility against Himself [consider it all in comparison with your trials] so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
The cross wasn’t comfortable, it was bitter and cruel. It was not a place that anyone could expect anything good to come from. Still, Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2). It was that joy that kept Him going during the hardest ordeal of His life.
Look for God to flood your life with His goodness as you navigate your hardest times of tests and trials. Jesus endured hostility so that you and I could have access to God’s best. So, wherever God leads you, expect His grace to drop in your life as love, joy, beauty, anticipation, abundance, and peace, even in unusual places.
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Take God Out of the Box 