Psalm 41:

Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor!
The Lord rescues them when they are in trouble.
The Lord protects them
and keeps them alive.
He gives them prosperity in the land
and rescues them from their enemies.
The Lord nurses them when they are sick
and restores them to health.

David, facing one of his regular times of hardship, starts this prayer by reminding himself that he’d found that serving God brought practical benefits in this present life. When we read this today, we sometimes think, “He’s trying to butter God up, so he can get what he wants.” However, I really think David was encouraging himself to have enough confidence so that he would continue to ask for God’s intervention in the situation.

Spiritual honesty is a lost art in the Christian world today, but God requires absolute honesty and faithfulness to Him in all things. “Faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26). If we just speak about faith in God, but not do what His Word says, we deceive ourselves. A righteous standing before God is critical and that only comes by combining spoken and acting faith. (James 2:22) Abraham’s “faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”