Resting in the Lord

Psalm 37:1-7

1 Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

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

5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust also in him; and He shall bring it to pass.

6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

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.

"Do not fret" David writes. Yet how many of worry about, or even get "angry" when we see the "evil-doers" seemingly getting away with it.

In a day where we can choose to worry about terrorism, shootings at schools, war, illness, etc. David tells us to "not worry"? That's not easy to do!

Ah, but he also tells us how to get there -- to the place where we can "rest in the Lord" (vs 7). Notice the progression of verbs:

• we start by "not fretting" (vs 1);
  
• we move to "trust" (vs 3);
  
• then we have "delight" (vs 4);
  
• and "commit" (vs 6);
  
• finally we get to "rest" (vs 7)

Notice also that "delight" is in the middle of this list; we too can find "joy" in the middle of worrisome times -- but only if we trust and commit!