sokin's devotional 77 - 4 ways to live
Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
Psalm 37:4-7
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The context of Psalm 37 appears to be in the midst of the Psalmist encouraging himself (and others) to stay strong and steadfast in the midst of evildoers and rough waters.
We've all been there. Evil seems to persist around us, darkness looms over us and it seems to "enjoy" fruit of life more than we do. Storms come into our lives, God seems distant and we have trouble keeping our boat afloat in the waves.
In verses 3 - 7, the writer highlights 4 means by which a believer of God can live so that through that, he/she will know that God does not forsake His saints, but instead is our "stronghold in the time of trouble" (v. 39)
1. Trust in the Lord...
Place all your hope in the fact that God is good and He is trustworthy. In human relationships, trust is commonly broken and unable to be placed on the offender so soon. Because, as Mark Driscoll writes, "forgiveness is but a moment, but trust takes time".
But trust in the Lord is a always sure, always able, always good thing to do because God simply is - trustworthy! Do not be fooled - God has never forsaken you. We can trust in Him and continue to do good. Even when things are tough, continue to trust in the Lord's ways and continue to do good.
2. Delight yourself in the Lord...
Enjoy God with all your heart. Savor Him for all that He is.
Enjoy Him when you eat. Enjoy him when you play sports. Enjoy Him when you are in the company of friends, strangers, and even enemies.
Enjoy God. Allow your heart to be thrilled by Him.
3. Commit your way to the Lord...
Entrust your plans to Him. Do all things for His sake, and His name.
Whether it be your future plans, your job, your relationships, commit all things to the good will of God. That nothing would take priority over knowing and loving God.
4. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him...
Wait. And wait patiently. This is probably the most difficult thing to do especially when evil seems to prosper around us, but we must learn to wait.
Wait even when things keep going downhill. Wait on Him, be still - know who it is you are waiting for.
Even when bad people prosper around you, or when the storm doesn't seem to let up, keep waiting on Him!
And so doing these things does not necessarily bring about goodness - as if to say our actions appeases God's wrath against us. No, God is faithful always even in the storm.
But we know that living in light of faith, trusting, committing, delighting, waiting on the Lord - these things change us and by His grace, we will see that,
"...salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him."
Psalm 37:39, 40
Doing these things (and all other spiritual disciplines for that matter), must be done not to appease a vengeful god...no, our God is good in all His ways. Doing these things should not be done to get good things.
Doing these things brings us, the believer, to realize and see that God is faithful and good.
Doing these things gets us God.
Lord, may it be so!
Delight yourself in the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
Psalm 37:4-7
---
The context of Psalm 37 appears to be in the midst of the Psalmist encouraging himself (and others) to stay strong and steadfast in the midst of evildoers and rough waters.
We've all been there. Evil seems to persist around us, darkness looms over us and it seems to "enjoy" fruit of life more than we do. Storms come into our lives, God seems distant and we have trouble keeping our boat afloat in the waves.
In verses 3 - 7, the writer highlights 4 means by which a believer of God can live so that through that, he/she will know that God does not forsake His saints, but instead is our "stronghold in the time of trouble" (v. 39)
1. Trust in the Lord...
Place all your hope in the fact that God is good and He is trustworthy. In human relationships, trust is commonly broken and unable to be placed on the offender so soon. Because, as Mark Driscoll writes, "forgiveness is but a moment, but trust takes time".
But trust in the Lord is a always sure, always able, always good thing to do because God simply is - trustworthy! Do not be fooled - God has never forsaken you. We can trust in Him and continue to do good. Even when things are tough, continue to trust in the Lord's ways and continue to do good.
2. Delight yourself in the Lord...
Enjoy God with all your heart. Savor Him for all that He is.
Enjoy Him when you eat. Enjoy him when you play sports. Enjoy Him when you are in the company of friends, strangers, and even enemies.
Enjoy God. Allow your heart to be thrilled by Him.
3. Commit your way to the Lord...
Entrust your plans to Him. Do all things for His sake, and His name.
Whether it be your future plans, your job, your relationships, commit all things to the good will of God. That nothing would take priority over knowing and loving God.
4. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him...
Wait. And wait patiently. This is probably the most difficult thing to do especially when evil seems to prosper around us, but we must learn to wait.
Wait even when things keep going downhill. Wait on Him, be still - know who it is you are waiting for.
Even when bad people prosper around you, or when the storm doesn't seem to let up, keep waiting on Him!
And so doing these things does not necessarily bring about goodness - as if to say our actions appeases God's wrath against us. No, God is faithful always even in the storm.
But we know that living in light of faith, trusting, committing, delighting, waiting on the Lord - these things change us and by His grace, we will see that,
"...salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him."
Psalm 37:39, 40
Doing these things (and all other spiritual disciplines for that matter), must be done not to appease a vengeful god...no, our God is good in all His ways. Doing these things should not be done to get good things.
Doing these things brings us, the believer, to realize and see that God is faithful and good.
Doing these things gets us God.
Lord, may it be so!
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