Psalms 37.1-7 FRET NOT thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD,and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself of him who prespereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth the wicked devices to pass. In this portion, it instructs us to do (or, not do) 6 different things. FRET NOT thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. We have a terrible habit to compare. We look at what others have, or who they are, in jealousy. Then comes the whining and complaining. Why don't I have this or that? Why do they have it so easy? Specifically when it comes to those who are not living right. We look at the life they are living, and the sin they are in and continue to ask God why they have a better life than we do. They do wrong, and their life seems to go so smoothly. They don't seem to have the struggles that we do. Everything is just handed to them. While we on the other hand, try to do our best, try to do right, and continually run into problems. We begin to resent those who are doing wrong, and begin to question whether it's worth it to do right. After all, they are handed good things, and the ones who try to live righeously recieve troubles. But He tells us not to worry about it; don't fret over it. Why? Because, their end is disapointment. They may seem to have it all and have it all together now, but when their life on earth is over, they will be dissapointed. Psalms 73 Truly GOD us good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other mmen; neither are they plagued like other men. Theredfore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth themm as a garment.Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have mmore than heart could wish. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly converning oppessiomn: they speak loftily. They set their mmmouth against the heavens, and their tounge walketh through the earth. Therefore his people return hither: and the waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? Behold,these are the ungodly, who proseper in the world; they increease in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency, For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I shouild offend against the generation of thy children. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set themm in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into despolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was greived, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignortant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless I amm continually with thee: thou hast holden mme by my right hand. Thou shalt guide mme with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upomn earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart failith: but God is the strength of my heart, and mmy portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroed all them that go a-whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works. TRUST HIM. Be careful who you trust. Jael, mentioned in the book of judges, killed Sisera, driving a spike through the temples of his head to the ground. After she had been kind to him, he trusted her. He trusted her enough to go to sleep in an enemies tent in the heat of the battle. He trusted the wrong person. The very person he trusted and placed his life in their hands, was the person who was planning to end it. He trusted her, and was led wrong. The only one worth trusting, or worthy of our trust is Him. There's a difference between trusting Him with your life to be saved and trusting Him with your life everyday. Proverbs 3.5 "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." Psalms 62.8 "Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah." Through the darkest hours, the light of His hope still shines through. Trust Him, if it was easy, it wouldn't be faith. The harder it is, the more you need it! DO GOOD. Despite what anyone else is doing, stay faithful and do what's right. Everything else may change, but He will not. Don't let anything change your determinated to do what's right and your faithfulness to Him. micah 6:8 "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the :LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" DELIGHT IN HIM. The question is not whether God delights in us, He does. Zephenia 3.17, "The Lord thy God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness." The Bible commands us to delight in Him. Philippians 4.4, "Rejoifce in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoce." Often we rejoice in His benefits, and not God Himself. We say, "God is great!", when really mean, "God's Salvation is great"; "What He has done for me is great.". When we truly delight in Him, our whole Christian life becomes joyous because we are living to please Him. If we delight in Him, we are going to want to do everything we can to please Him. COMMIT THY WAY TO HIM To commit is to pledge or bind to a certain course or policy. You must give Him your plans. Give Him your future. Again, I go to Proverbs 3.5-6. "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understnading. In all thy ways ackknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Isaiah 55.8-9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are mmy ways higher than your ways, and mmy thoughts than your thoughts." Psalmms 18:30, "As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in Him." "Surendure is realizing that someone else is more worthy of my life than I am." -Bro. Matt Haynes REST AND WAIT Rest in Him. Rest in His love. No need to be all tense and worried over situations or circumstances. He's got you! He will take care of you! To worry is to doubt God's ability to take care of you. "God is able to fix every problemm, but not obligated...the mark of a succesful Christian life is whether He fixes the problems of not, remain faithful." -MH These all work hand in hand. If you are doing all the previous commands, this one will come easy. Just take a moment to consider who God is and who we are. You can't find true rest or real peace until you focus on Him. Isaiah 26.3, " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." Now since you are resting in Him, this next one should be pretty simple. However, as easy as it is, it is one of the hardest things in the world to do. WAIT. Wait for Him. Ps. 37.34,"Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it." Ps. 40.1, "I WAITED patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry." Ps. 62.5, "My soul, wiat thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him." is. 40.31, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and the shall walk, and not faint. " No matter where you are at in life right now. No matter what you are facing, or just came out of, the Lord instructs us to do these things. Recently, I was reminded of this thought. If I had to wait for three years for an answer, would I still trust Him, would I still be faithful? Now, my first inclination, though sometimes shamefully hesitated is, "Of course!" But, remember, we aren't going to know that it will be "X" amount of time before we will hear from Him. But say, it would be three years, without any knowledge whatsoever, patiently waiting, would we still be ok with that? Would we still trust Him? Would we still have faith?
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January 2023
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