Control and Delight

Scripture:
Psalm 37:3 – Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness…trust also in Him…Rest in the Lord…Wait for the Lord.”

Observation:
David is writing to give wisdom and comfort to those who are watching the “evil” and getting overly bothered and envious of them. He says in verse 1, “Be not envious toward wrongdoers.” Why would someone envy wrongdoers? Maybe because they seem to get away with doing wrong and “prosper” as a result. Maybe they seem happier in some ways? But, throughout the Psalm, David is trying to bring the reader back to an understanding of how God deals with wrongdoers as well as show the better way of the life of faithfulness. He says not only should you not do evil but you should cultivate righteousness in your life. Or simply put “DO GOOD.” It reminds me of when Paul said, “Do not grow weary in doing good.” There are three words that stand out as being the philosophy of living for the righteous. They are TRUST, REST and WAIT. All three of these are counter to human instinct and I think David knows that through God’s inspiration. Here is what he says in relationship to these three words.

TRUST- Commit your ways (what you do) to honoring God. In doing this God will bring righteousness and good judgment.
REST – Be patient in regards to God acting towards the wicked. It is His to handle. He will take care of it.
WAIT – Do not get ahead of God in what is His to do. He will act justly. He will reward when He wants to.

He also says that in this trusting, resting and waiting life there is DELIGHT! “Delight yourself in the Lord (v.4),” “The humble…will delight themselves in abundant prosperity(v.11),” “He (God) delights in him(v.23).” It is a better way to live.

Application:
In the end I think this is a message of letting go of control for me and trusting that God has great delight for me. Trusting, resting and waiting mean that I am ok with NOT being in control everything. I need to examine things, situations, relationships, etc. that frustrate me and pursue to trust that God is handling it. Not being in control (trusting, resting and waiting) is so counter to my culture of self advancement, efficiency and expediency. Those are the way of life in suburban America…but not the way of life for God…for a disciple of Jesus. Where do I need to let go? I know I need to admit that I am not in control. I know I just need to do more good. I think this is telling me that if I let go and trust God then I will be:
(1) Delighting or pursuing greater pleasure in knowing God.
(2) Enjoying the pleasure of God’s reward.
(3) Being found as a delight to God.

That sounds really good to me. I want that kind of life.

Prayer:
Father help me to release control of things in my life and trust you more. Keep me from being envious. Move my desires towards trusting your, resting in you and waiting on you. Help me believe that delighting in you and your ways is better than anything else.

— Doug Hunt, Pastor of Worship/Programming