As mentioned in this post, I made a change in my message this past Sunday.   I spoke on Psalm 37:1-7.  It has been awhile since I did a “Bible post” so since I plan to be gone to Ohio for just the whole day I thought I would use this post as an opportune time to “preach/teach.”  🙂  I just wanted to share some thoughts with you from the message that had a profound effect upon me (and I believe some who were there).

Theme of whole Psalm: “Trusting God during a difficult time  of perceived injustice”   If you have ever said, “It’s not fair” then this psalm is for you.

Verse 1: “Fret not”–  literally means “don’t get heated up”  Don’t pour gas on yourself and light the match.

Verse 3- “Trust in the LORD” The LORD is the one used for God’s covenant Name (YHWH).  I talked about how important it was for me to pick a name that I wanted my grandson to know me by…Grandpa.  When he hears that name he knows exactly who it is referring to.

What am I supposed to do when I trust?

1. Do good– do what is right in every circumstance.
2. Dwell in the land– “stay put”  The best place to be is the center of God’s will.  That may mean staying in your job or your marriage or not giving up on your wayward son/daughter.
3. Befriend faithfulness–  “graze upon, feed upon the firmness and certainty of God.”

Verse 4- “Delight in the LORD”– cherish Him as the best part.  Sort of like eating salmon at Texas Roadhouse.  I savor it and comment on it.  😉 There is a promise attached to this:  “He will give me the desires of my heart.”  Literally it means “His desires He will give you.”

Verse 5- “Commit” literally means “to roll.”  H.C. Leupold once said, “This word means to ‘dislodge the burden from your shoulders and lay it on God.'”  Awesome quote!! I Peter 5:7 comes to mind.

Verse 6- “He will act” I plan to blog about this tomorrow so don’t want to say much here but suffice it to say that God won’t answer the “when” question.  He actually answers the “why” question.

Verse 7- “Be still” This also means “be silent” or “rest” (NKJV & NAS)  Be at peace without resolution.  Trust and wait seems to be a siren song of God’s.

That is just a capsulized version of what I used and said Sunday morning.  I closed with Lincoln Brewster’s video of “God You Reign” (see this post) and had them sing along.  Then offered prayer for anyone who desired to come forward for prayer.   Tomorrow’s post I will go into a little more detail about the “when” and “why” question.  If you are going through a tough time right now, my prayer is this may have sparked a little something inside you to investigate Psalm 37 a little closer than I have been able to do.

I would love to hear your thoughts and if I happen to not make the Ohio trip will respond to them during the day.  If I do, then it will be later in the day before I can do so.  What are your thoughts?

Special thanks to Pastor James MacDonald for some insights.