To my dear Friends in Christ,
Today I have meditated on Psalm 37. This precious song is intended to keep me from fretting when evil people seem to be winning. Now if we are honest, we all expect God to work things out as we wish. We want Him to give us the desires of our feelings and wishes. When it seems that our enemies are winning; we are whining! David experienced many victories, yet he was victimized by King Saul and others. His advice seems so timely for our situation in life today. David is addressing the age-old problem of evil! Asaph does the same thing in Psalm 73.
I ask myself how can I align my feeling with God’s wishes? Where do I begin this refining process of my “deceptive and desperately wicked heart” (Jeremiah 17:9) To be honest, my feelings are a mystery even to me!
Here is a simple remedy proposed in Psalm 37. It contains 5 commands and a glorious promise from God.
NIV Psalm 37:3-4
Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land
and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
First command is “Trust in the LORD.” This is simply stated! Faith must have an object and the LORD is the only worthy One. We live by faith all the time. But our faith is too often misplaced. David clearly identifies the LORD as the sole object of our faith. It is easier to say we trust in the LORD then to actually practice it. The phrase “trust in the LORD” appears 225 times in the NIV version of the Bible. Here are some verses to ponder on this command: Psalm 115:9-11, 118:8-9; Proverbs 3:5; Isaiah 26:3-4.
Second command is “Do good.” Faith is a verb! Because we trust in the LORD, our actions reflect our faith. The noun “good” means what is beautiful, beneficial, practical and blesses others! We were saved by God in Christ to do good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). This command is in the present tense therefore we are always called to do good.
Jesus echoes a similar expectation in Matthew 5:16.
The third command is “dwell in the land.” To a Jewish person in David’s day this is simple: live in Israel! Today we could expand the physical location to any place we find ourselves. Live under the Sovereign grace and love of God. He watches over you all the time. You are safe in His will. Set your roots deep in Him and enjoy life! Unfortunately, even in David’s day, everyone did not live this way even within the boundaries of the nation of Israel.
The fourth command is particularly impressive to me. David says: “enjoy safe pasture.” The NAS versions translate it: “cultivate faithfulness.” The ESV reads: “Befriend faithfulness.” Why is there such a variety to translations? The verb means to graze in or to tend a pasture. This is followed by the common word for faithfulness or trustworthiness. If we understand the verb to be passive, then we are called to enjoy the pasture where God is faithful to us. If we see the verb as active, then we are called to tend our pasture in faithfulness and truth. Both translations are valid. I am persuaded that the active is better since this appears in a list of commands.
The final command is “take delight in the LORD.” This is a perfect bookend to the first command. The verb to delight can mean to be soft or delicate. It is used to portray a mother nursing her baby in Isaiah 55:2 and 66:11. The verb reappears in Psalm 37:11. Will I let God be my delight? Will I run to Him to supply my needs? These questions seem to help me to put this command into the refining process of my heart. Too many times, I look elsewhere and find myself disappointed in the outcome.
Now the consequential promise is clearly given: God will give you the desires of your heart. He has transformed my appetites and desires! I am now content in Him and in His will for me. Let us rejoice that God is still in the heart transforming business. He loves us so much that He changes us! He enables us to align our hearts with His. Perhaps this explains why Paul expressed that He “learned” to be content by trusting Jesus to enable him to deal with his circumstances and stuff! See Philippians 4:11-13.
Do you see David’s point? He wants to overcome his feelings of jealousy toward others. He calls us to not seek revenge in the success of our enemies but to leave room for God. He is just and the day of the Lord will reveal it! Let us keep from judging others and let God be the JUDGE in His time. Until that Day, we will choose to live by faith in our Faithful Father in heaven. If we do not live by faith in Him, we will always live with angst toward others. We choose to live by enjoying His land!
Change My Heart Oh God
Make It Ever True
Change My Heart Oh God
May I Be Like You
You Are The Potter
I Am The Clay
Mold Me And Make Me
This Is What I Pray
By Eddie Espinosa, Maranatha music
We will conclude our study on “Homes Built by Wisdom,” this Sunday morning by addressing singleness. This will be a timely message on a vital subject! Our missionary and brother Edwardo Castillo will help us to understand the blessings of serving the Lord as a single adult. Please come and worship with us!
This week we will also kick off our “Pray for Me” campaign. This is an opportunity for our students to connect with three adults for prayer this year. It is our hope that our students with find a young adult, a middle-aged adult and a senior adult who will pray for them personally. Come to join us for lunch and the draft of prayer partners!
Our next series of sermons will be a study of the 7 churches in Revelation 2-3.
I am eager to see you and worship with you this weekend.
Your servant for Jesus’ sake,
Pastor Rick