Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:3-4 NKJ
At the first sign of distress or trouble what do you do? When someone wounds you with their words or actions what is your first response? When I encounter situations like these my initial reaction is to fight. I want justice done right now! Other people want to run. They don’t like confrontation and try to get as far away from it as they can. It is important to understand that these reactions are natural due to the “fight or flight” hormone in the brain called adrenaline, or epinephrine as scientists in the Unites States call it.
But in Psalm 37 David tells us to do something different! He tells us to trust in the Lord, feed on His faithfulness, commit our way to Him, and watch God bring about justice. We know this because he wrote verses 3 & 4 right after he wrote, “Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.” (Verses 1 &2) As New Covenant disciples of Jesus Christ we understand that we no longer battle flesh and blood, but principalities and powers of darkness in heavenly places. Though the actual actions may come from a person; we understand there is something else taking place, than just a person being mean or evil.
We understand that the devil is working through that person to try and destroy our faith and trust in God. He is also trying to get us to be afraid of man and to blame man for his evil doing. But it is so important to remember that God has already defeated the devil and his attacks against us are only shadows of evil death sent to try and distract us in our faith. While it is important to make sure we are physically safe, this is not what David is talking about in Psalm 37. David is referring to our state of mind and heart in the midst of an attack or battle.
We know this because in verses 39 and 40 David says, “But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.” So what are we called to do when trouble comes and how do we prepare our minds and hearts for the attack? We are called to stand in the face of trouble, securely fitted in the armor of God; ready to battle with the weapons of our warfare. And those weapons of warfare are the Word of God, prayer, worship, and our words of faith. With this understanding let’s look at the order David gives in Psalm 37 that will help us to overcome when we find ourselves in trouble.
Trust in the Lord and do good - Proverbs 3:5 -6 shows us how to do this. It says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” So the first thing we need to do is to remind ourselves that God is in the midst of our situation and when we put our trust in Him; He will direct our steps in knowing what to do next. We do not have to be afraid because He has gone before us and made a way for us to maneuver through the situation in peace. This is what leads us to being able to good; which means to execute a Christ like response instead of a humanistic reaction.
Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness – Notice he doesn’t say fight or run. Again David is referring to our state of mind and the condition of our heart. Though we may need to move to a safe place physically or take a time out to collect our thoughts; we do not need to become frantic or allow our hope and faith to be stolen. We dwell in the land of God’s promises; which means to meditate on the Word. We remind ourselves that our hope is in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ operating in us. (1 Peter 1:3) We also remind ourselves that God will never give us more than we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13) Meditating on the Word is what feeding on His faithfulness means.
Delight yourself in the Lord – The word delight means great pleasure and joy. So to delight in the Lord means to take great pleasure and joy in knowing that when He is for you no one can be against you. It means we meditate on verses like Isaiah 54:17. “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the LORD.” Calling to remembrance promises like this one is what prepares us to know how to pray for the desire of our heart. When our hearts are focused on God then our minds are clear to know how to pray, or to know if we need to call on the Holy Spirit to pray for us if we are unable to.
To be continued…….
Prayer: Lord as you reveal Your Word to me help me to receive it so I know how to respond when trouble comes my way or when I am caught off guard by an attack of the enemy. Help me to discern Your Word so I embrace Your promises! Give me wisdom and understanding according to Your Truth so I am empowered in the midst of trouble. I praise You for being faithful and for Your great and mighty love for me! Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment