For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you.
(Psalm 84:11–12 NLT)
I have heard a verse quoted and questioned many times by hearts aching under the weight of unmet desires: “The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right” (Psalm 84:11 NLT).
My own heart has closed my Bible on those words, angrily concluding the words must not be true.
But God does seem to withhold good things from those he loves! He’s withholding a good thing from me right now!—you may resonate. What is it? A job? A home? A baby? A spouse? A diagnosis? An opportunity? Health? Rest? Sleep?
How Context Helps Us Understand This Promise
I read this verse today in the Bible in an entirely new light, because I finally noticed where this verse lies. Do you notice that the promise—“God will not withhold anything good from those he loves”—is bookended by battle language?
The words that come before the promise are “The Lord God is…our shield” (Psalm 84:11 NLT). And the words that come after it call the Lord, “the Lord of Heaven’s Armies” (Psalm 84:12 NLT).
“The Lord is our shield”—that means he is our protector. He defends us from evil, from our enemies, and from danger. Also, at the mention of his title, “Lord of Heaven’s Armies” we are reminded that a heavenly army exists because a demonic one does too. Armies are only needed where there is war.
We know from the rest of the Bible that there is an unseen battle going on all around us (Ephesians 6:12)—and even within us (Romans 7:21–25; Galatians 5:16–24). Before we get nervous or afraid, remember that our Lord, our God, our Sun, and our Shield is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. He is the King, and the King who through his cross and resurrection has won the war. We are safe with him.
Psalm 84:10–12 paints the Lord as a Warrior, and a glorious one—radiant, inspiring joy in all who find shelter under his banner.
It is this Lord that “withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly.” The Lord who is our sun and who has no shadow (James 1:17) also stands as our shield. He stands between us and all that comes to harm.
What Does It Mean That “the Lord Will Withhold No Good Thing”?
What if what we perceive as withholding is really our Lord defending? We are not told in this verse about the activity of the Lord, or the enemies and danger that he defends us from, but we are told that he 1) stands in our defense and 2) will not withhold good from us.
Many things come our way. The Lord will not let anything past him that is not good for us—that’s his promise! We rejoice when his defense keeps out our enemies, but what if he also defends us at times from things we want? What if, in his wisdom, he knows that some of our desires carry with them some danger to our souls?
He will shield us from nothing good. Yet, he stands as our shield. Will we trust that whatever comes our way has passed through the defense of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies who has taken upon himself the care of our souls? Because we belong to Jesus, his heart toward us is sunshine, and he is determined to withhold nothing good from us.
When we believe the Lord is withholding from us, we may be remembering only one part of the truth of this verse. We may remember that God is a shield, confident that he is exercising wisdom, but we’ve forgotten that he is a sun whose heart is to bless us with his grace and glory—he has no darkened intentions. We must remember that the Lord is our shield, yes, but he is also our sun—and his heart is to bless us with grace and glory.
Or, we may remember that the Lord is our sun, whose heart is to bless us with grace and glory, yet feel like he is withholding something good from us, causing us confusion. At this point, we must remember that God is also our shield, and where we think he is withholding, we can trust he is defending and is exercising wisdom for the spiritual protection of our souls. His defense on our behalf is another extension of his grace and glory.
Believe That the Lord Will Withhold No Good Thing From You
We must believe God’s Word is true—“The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right” (Psalm 84:11 NLT). And it is, friend. It is true. When you doubt it, ask God to restore your vision of him as a radiant and glorious warrior, whose heart is full of love for you and whose governance of your life is wiser than you can imagine and kinder than you can perceive.