Trust, Delight, Commit, And Rest

 Psalm 37:1-11

How often, when checking up on the news, do we hear of someone who has committed a crime, perhaps several crimes, and they just seem to get away with it, over and over again?  Perhaps we know someone who is just a real rascal of a person, yet their life is just sailing along quite fine.  They get a brand new car every year.  They can afford a nice long vacation every year, and even a second home somewhere warm to go to every winter.  Yet here we are, living our life for the Lord, and we struggle just to keep a roof over our head and something to eat on the table every day.  If we aren’t careful, we may find ourselves becoming envious of the wicked, and how easy their life seems to be.  This was something that David faced, as well.  Being a believer and follower of the Lord, David allowed God to teach him some lessons, which he shares in our Scripture from Psalm 37 today.

Psalm 37 is one of the many psalms written by David, quite probably in his old age as he looked back over all that he had gone through.  Like all of us, he had seen how easy the lives of the wicked seemed to be, yet how the righteous struggled from day to day.  David must have been irritated by what he saw, yet he allowed the Lord to teach him some valuable lessons through this, and here in our psalm he shares them with us.

The Lord taught David, and us through this Scripture, that we should never envy evil people.  What they have will vanish like withered grass (vs. 1-2).  Those who follow God live differently.  We may not have a lot of earthly treasures.  We may not have the nicer house and car, the exciting vacations, and big bank accounts, but in the end, by following and obeying God, we have greater treasure in heaven.  What we get following God will last forever.  The wicked may prosper for a time, but it is only for a time.

David gives us four keys to having this peaceful and victorious life, where we aren’t stressed and worried about how the unsaved are thriving.  They are trust, delight, commit and rest (vs. 3-7).  When we trust in God, and obey His ways, He will provide us with all that we need (vs. 3).  David tells us we also need to delight in the Lord (vs. 4).  To delight in someone means to experience great pleasure and joy in their presence.  This would happen only when we got to know that person well.  To delight in the Lord means we must know Him better.  We take pleasure in discovering more about God, and following His will.  We spend time with Him, learning what pleases Him, and praying for discernment to make wise decisions.  When we make the Lord our joy, He promises to give us the desires of our heart.  With God as our delight, the desires that grow in our heart are usually the ones He puts there.  They will bring lasting peace and satisfaction, not necessarily things we think we want, or try to get apart from Him.

To commit ourselves to the Lord means entrusting everything, our lives, families, jobs, and possessions to His control (vs. 5-6).  We need to trust in Him, believing that He can care for us better than we can ourselves.  Committing our way to the Lord is allowing His will and mandates to shape our thoughts, lifestyles, and goals.

The final key is resting in the Lord (vs. 7).  We cause ourselves stress when we take things into our own hands, rather than releasing the circumstances to God.  The Lord does not need our help in getting anything done.  The age-old phrase “God helps those who help themselves” is not in the Bible, and it is not true.  He tells us to rest, to be still, and let Him work (Psalm 46:10).  Seek God’s ways and His timing.

As our psalm passage continues, we see that we should never turn to anger or anything else that is evil to remedy the situation, whatever our situation is (vs. 8-9).  Anger and worry are destructive emotions.  They show a lack of faith that we believe God loves and cares for us.  When we dwell on our problems, we become anxious and angry.  Focusing on God brings peace.  Relax, don’t react.  The Lord’s intervention is imminent (vs. 10).  We need to continue to trust, delight, commit, and rest.