The first 4 verses of chapter 36 simply describes one who is lost, one who has not accepted that he needs a savior, one who is living only to satisfy the flesh, one who has no fear of God. That is who we are before answering God’s call. Without the Savior we are the wicked. Those who have listened to His call and follow after Him, God pours out His love on them. Our God is faithful, just, and He is love.
One of my favorite bands, Third Day, has a song taken from Psalm 36 that I would love for you to listen to today. The song title is “Your Love Oh Lord.” As you listen, let the words be your praise and worship to Him.
Psalm 37
This is a great Psalm to encourage us when we see what seems to be the prosperity of evil. It pretty much tells us what to do when we feel envious of those who do wrong or when we feel like we need to be more important in life. Here are five things we are told to do in the beginning of chapter 37:
Do not fret or be envious.
Trust in the Lord.
Delight in the Lord.
Commit your way to the Lord.
Be still and wait for Him.
When we worry or get angry over things we are showing a lack of faith. It may be difficult to see anger as a lack of faith, but it is when we are angry about our problems. We are not trusting in the Lord’s ways or timing. This worry and anger is the same as fretting. When we trust Him, He will begin to fill us with His desires. The closer we draw to Him, He will bring us peace and contentment. Many people take verse four out of context and become very discouraged when the Lord doesn’t just give them what they want. The beauty of these verses is that as we commit to the Lord and trust in Him and wait on Him our delight is in what ever He does. He pours His spirit into our lives and we will be at peace with what ever He wills for our lives.
Psalm 38
David is expressing great sorrow for his sins and states that his sin has led to health problems. This is where my mind goes back to worry and anger being a sin. God’s word tells us not to fret, not to worry, not to be anxious. I want to be a little transparent for a moment and describe a time in my life I am reminded of in reading these passages. Just a few years ago I was challenged with something that was certainly a growing experience. I tried so hard to be in control. I envied the wicked. I wanted a taste of revenge. I had many many many sleepless nights and mentally exhausting days. As a result my mouth broke out in sores and I had muscle spasms in my back which made my body sore. That is just to name a couple of several health problems I experienced. Now, my suffering is minuscule compared to Job but my point is that it was all caused by worry, anxiety and anger. I did not trust in the Lord and I had to repent of my sin. During that time, I did not wait on the Lord. I did not trust Him. After I was broken and humbled then I was lifted up. “O Lord, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God. Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.”
Psalm 39
Life is short! It is ironic that we spend so much time securing our lives on earth without much thought of how we will spend eternity. How is our time spent? David said, “Each man’s life is but a breath...he bustles about, but only in vain...” What are we living for? Our hope is in the Lord! Separate from God, life is empty.
Amy, that seems to be a problem we all have to "wait upon the Lord" We are like spoiled children, we want what we want when we want it. I can't count the times I have heard, "God never answers my prayers." What we are really saying is that God either has told us no or to wait but we don't want to hear that. We tell our children wait until later but we don't want our heavenly Father to tell us the same thing. I know I have been guilty of this. I know there are times when I say, "not my will but thine" but I really mean I want my will to be His will.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Ms. Boots!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing, Amy! We must learn to walk with Him, and not run ahead begging Him to go our way.......what a great picture you have painted for us.
ReplyDeleteAmy - you did a FANTASTIC job with these passages today - WOW!!! I appreciate you taking the time to make a link to the Third Day song. I LOVE that song!! I don't think we realize how many of the contemporary Christian music lyrics are actully verses straight out of the book of Psalms. I know Jeremy Camp has several songs that pull verses from Psalms as well. Ahhh...sin sickness...NOT an enjoyable place to be...been there more times than I care to count! Sometimes God has to use the physical part of us to really get our attention and it is never fun when that happens! Best to humble ourselves and repent as early as possible to save us from that heartache!!! Thanks for your candidness Amy!!!
ReplyDeleteI love that you talked about worrying being a sin. So often, when I talk about worry with other women, the gist of the conversation runs to how hard it is not to worry, and since it's "natural" it gets dismissed as something that will just always be. Jesus was specific in Matthew chapter 6 when he said "Do not worry about your life..." then, he finishes that section by saying "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness." Interesting how the psalms today followed a similar path.
ReplyDeletePS- if you guys like songs based on scripture (who doesn't???) then check out the "Glory Revealed" projects. Multiple big name artists came together to write songs from scripture and then sing them together. They are wonderful.
I appreciate the clear contrast in Psalms 36 and 37 between those who are evil and those who follow God. Great verses to use for checking our hearts and motives!
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