Psalm 37 - Do Not Fret!
1/22/21
During my quiet time with the Lord this morning I was “stuck” in Psalms 37. Although the concept of how God treats the evil doers verses the righteous is understood on a very cursory level for us as Christians, and is especially helpful for where we are in this country at this time, I couldn’t move away from it. As I pressed in, I felt a very keen sense of comfort in these verses (emphasis added):
3Trust in the Lord
, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart
34 Wait on the Lord, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
40 And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.
I feel as though the Lord wants us to know “it’s going to be ok,” and that is always the case, and not even a surprise to us that believe. OF COURSE this is true! And even though these truths are “self-evident” as believers, I feel like the PEACE we need in this time is conditional on our trust in Him, our patience, and our delighting ourselves in Him – ON PURPOSE. There is a REST available to us in this time, but if we hardened our hearts, as did the Israelites after the Red Sea crossing, then we are in the sin of unbelief. As it says in Hebrews 3:12-14:
12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,
There are many things I can say about this thought alone, but I want to get to what I believe the heart of the matter is for us in this season, and what the Lord showed me today. There is a recurrent command the Lord gives us this chapter that jumped off the page as I pressed in:
1 Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.
I think most believers know that the thing the Lord tells us the most in scripture, over and over again, is “Do Not Fear.” When something seems out of our control and “unknown,” our default is to have fear or anxiety, and the Lover of our soul wants us to be at rest and in Peace – in the shadow of His wings. But, in this chapter, when looking at the fates of the wicked and the righteous, there is another command: “Do Not Fret.” I want to emphasize that I believe this is a command – something that we can achieve, if we choose to. But this word does not mean “worry,” or “wring the hands” as I thought - it is the word chârâh (khaw-raw') in Hebrew (Strongs H2734) and it means to be angry or to “blaze up” with anger. And the Lord tells us not to “fret” 3 times in this chapter, because He means it! And, in verse 8 he even says that to do so “only causes harm.”
Is there anyone today that feels ANGRY because of what has happened in this election? Is there anyone that feels wronged, and maybe even desperate or hopeless - and gets angry when thinking about it? Well, I believe the Lord is telling us to STOP IT! Being angry over the actions of someone else does not help you, or the situation. It only causes you harm, and here is the best news: there is a way to avoid the harm that would befall us if we succumb to anger because of evildoers!
Look again at verses 3, 4, 34 & 40.
3
Trust in the
Lord
, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart
34 Wait on the Lord, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
40 And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.
I believe the Lord is reminding us how to walk in this season more times than He warns us of how not to walk! 3 times He tells us not to be angry, but 4 times He tells us how to accomplish this! Trust Him. Delight in Him. Wait on Him! We can’t control how someone treats us, or has cheated us out of our vote (if you feel this way) – but we can control how we REACT to this! We MUST praise the Lord, for He is GOOD – His mercies endure forever! We Trust in Him in all our ways and lean not on our own understanding, and HE will make our paths straight! Our salvation is not in our hands. As it says in verse 34 of this chapter:
34 Wait on the Lord, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
God’s got this! He’s told us this repeatedly, but we have a roll to play, too! Don’t be in unbelief of His word. Don’t be angry by things like what we are going through now – as if somehow we see something that God does not. Our Salvation is in Him. We cannot control what is happening – but “we know a Guy!” (said like an Italian guy from New York, right?). God loves us very much, and is NOT happy about the way His children are being treated. HE will take care of this – so honor Him by believing that He will deliver us – and DO NOT FRET!
With love,
Cappy