Psalms 37:1-11

Psa 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Many take that to mean that “Santa Claus has come to town!” But let's read the rest of the scripture passage.

Psalms 37:1-11

(1) Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. (2) For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

I did some comparison definitions with Strong's & Webster on some of the words found in this Psalm. Some of the word meanings did surprise me a little.

FRET: (Strong) to blaze up, Kindled, anger, zeal, jealousy, be displeased, grieve, be incensed or wroth. (Webster) Vexed, worried, Devoured….rage? hatred?

There are plenty of things to fret ourselves over today: We may feel helplessness over the direction of our lives, our country, the mortgage fraud that has caused a recession, the direction of politics and policies. We can get angry, grieved or zealous over a court cases we think are unfair or worry about what will happen if the economy takes even more of a downturn.

Webster also used the word “Devoured”. Fretting will devour our time, emotions and resources on things that are not pertinent to God’s Kingdom or His church. But remember, the things we fret over today probably won’t be important to us tomorrow. Like cutting grass with a lawn mower..we and the rest of the world will move on to other problems or scandals of interest.

Psalm 37 shows us how to find balance, also notice the contract agreements in some of the verses between God and us. "If we will do this…God will do this."

(3)Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

TRUST: (Webster) assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. (Strongs) to be confident, bold, secure, to feel safe, to be careless.

Careless??
I personally believe that jumping / skydiving out of an airplane is reckless & careless, but skydivers will tell you that they trust & feel secure their parachute will open. Our relationship with God is the same way. We can scream, cling to the plane, and keep our eyes closed in terror :) or we can boldly and confidently (even care-lessly/without care) step/dive out, enjoy the view, even spin and swoop into life and our ministries, trusting God to either take us through or take us home; unafraid to go where the Spirit sends or takes us. What have we to fear? Our God will take care of us!

Psa 27:1-3 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (2) When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. (3) Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

Also remember the difference between TRUSTING IN as apposed to TRUSTING ON the Lord. These scriptures refer several times to IN...and IN is definitely different than ON. If you were riding 70 mph on the interstate ON the hood of a car, then death or maiming & dismemberment will most likely occur. If you are driving 70mph IN the car, then most likely you will suffer no ill effects and will arrive at your destination safely since you are driving the speed limit. :) Wouldnt' you rather trust IN the Lord, instead of just ON the Lord?

(4) Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

DELIGHT: (Strongs) to be soft, pliable, be delicate, be dainty… (Webster) a high degree of gratification : joy; also : extreme satisfaction.

Delight definitely has a more feminine connotation. Guys don’t really like the idea of “delighting” LIKE a girl. Ha!

Every good southern woman knows that when heavy lifting is necessary...all she has to do is stand back and ask for “help” and say “please”...and some strong dude will pick it up for her and carry it for her. She is perfectly willing to acknowledge her weakness and delights in his strength.
The Lord compares himself as a strong man willing and ready to carry whatever burdens we allow him to, desire him too. He encourages us to allow him to be our burden bearer.

The Desires of our hearts are our "Petitions and earnest requests, entreaties".
How do we pray for or know what our earnest requests are? Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

(5) Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.(6) And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

COMMIT: (Strongs) to roll (literally or figuratively): remove (from yourself), roll onto someone else. To Seek occasion to trust, to wallow. Roll upon Jehovah thy way; Commit all they concerns to God. (Webster) to carry into action deliberately

This make me think of a heavy backpack. When my load gets too burdensome, Jesus just wants me to roll it off my shoulders and place it upon his.

What is "IT" when he says that he “shall bring IT to pass? "IT" is "thy way", the path, road, purpose in life, your calling. We may get all up in arms about what our future holds, but we don’t need to worry about tomorrow, because He already owns tomorrow.

Pro 3:5,6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (6) In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

(6) And he shall bring forth thy righteousness (right/justice) as the light, (illumination, happiness) and thy judgment (favorable verdict) as the noonday.

In other words, if you give up your worldly rights and Commit your way/life to the RIGHTOUSNESS of the Lord…your witness is gonna GLOW like the morning light that brightens to the full SHINE of the noonday sun.

(7) Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

REST: (Strongs) to be silent, quiet, be still, stand still, wait, be dumb, grow dumb/to be astonished, to stop; cease, cut off, forbear, hold peace, tarry, wait. (Webster) freedom from activity or labor : a state of motionlessness or inactivity

Ever heard someone say, “Don’t pray for patience, because you’ll get tribulation.”

PATIENTLY: (Strongs) to twist, whirl, dance, writhe, fear, tremble, travail, be in anguish, be pained (Webster) bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint

Having patience during a trial can be an painful, agonizing thing, full of travail, fear and trembling. Even when it seems like the Lord has just left you “hanging, twirling and dancing in the wind”…..the Lord still commands us to wait patiently for HIM and HIS timing.

There may be times we are falsely accused & judged... or sickness, financial problems, family issues overwhelm us... and we feel “left out to dry” by God. Instead of fretting in anger and grieving over it, God says to REST and let Him take care of it. He will be our defense in times of trouble, our healer in times of need, and our comfort during times of trial.

(8) Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
(9) For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

CEASE from anger: (Strongs) to let drop, abandon, relax, refrain, forsake, to let go, to refrain, let alone, to be quiet.

What! Even if we’re right? Hmmmph!
Do we wish to be Right? Or do we wish to be Righteous?

FORSAKE wrath: to depart from, leave behind, let alone, abandon JUST WALK AWAY, DROP IT.

FRET Not in ANY wise: Don’t talk yourself into doing any kind of evil…thinking it, feeling it, saying it, committing it, hearing it, writing it, whispering it...

WAIT Upon The Lord: to look eagerly for ,to lie in wait, to linger for, to bind together

Politicians have convinced Christians to join in partnership with them by making them angry, making them feel powerful with anger as the "moral majority". Politicians really don’t care about Christians values. They really only care about our pocketbooks and our circle of influence. One of the images that the world has of Christians (and other religious entities they consider to be threatening) are images of anger. Frankly, Christianity is being lumped together with angry terrorists in the minds of the world. However we are not called to be angrily involved in divisive politics, we are called to lovingly "go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to EVERY creature)...regardless of political affiliation.

It is also not attractive for a Kingdom to have its emissaries running around wringing their hands, worried, upset, out of control, doubtful, frustrated. Why would anyone wish to become citizens of it??

The world is looking for a scapegoat AND a hero saviour. Fortunately for us, Jesus gracefully stepped up and volunteered to shoulder both those responsibilities. He has EVERYTHING under CONTROL!

God's Will works directly opposite of the world's will.
Our anger will not affect change in His Kingdom and our worry will not move His Will any faster. He desires us to patiently wait on HIS PERFECT TIMING.

In the mean time, He commands us to forsake wrath & anger, love Him and each other, Trust in Him, Rest in Him, Delight in Him, Commit to Him, Wait patiently for Him.

Time is swiftly coming to a close:

(10) For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. (11) But the meek (the humble, poor, afflicted, needy, lowly) shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Isn’t that what the world is looking for, but rejects? Abundant Peace that only comes from God?
We need the Lord. People need the Lord. And people need to see us trusting, resting, delighting, committing, and patiently waiting in the Lord.

(tammy washburn 7/13/11 Mission's service)