Psalm 37: 8-11  Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret–it leads only to evil.  For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

Three times in this psalm we have been instructed – do not fret.  We are told not to fret because of evil men,  when others succeed and we don’t seem to be succeeding, and that fretting will lead to evil.   In today’s verses we are first told to keep ourselves from being angry and turn away from anger.  Then we are told not to fret as it will lead us to sin.  The dictionary says fret means: to eat away, gnaw, disturb, irritate, vex, worry or annoy.   I was thinking of fret as just worry but it actually means something that would get under your skin and eat away at you.  Isn’t that what happens when you dwell on problems that are seemingly unresolved and emotions that are flared.   Keeping fretful things in our minds eats away at us and causes us to lose our godly focus.  God wants to be preeminent in our lives and hold every thought captive in Christ.  Letting ourselves become fretful will lead us away from God and into sin.

The psalmist also reminds us that living fretfully will keep us from the blessings He has promised.  His land and His kingdom are rich in blessings for us now and into eternity.  Don’t miss out on the blessings by spending your time fretting.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:26-27 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

Make the commitment today to reign in worry and anxiety.  Don’t waste even a minute on this today.  Remember 1 Peter 5:7  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you!

No fretting allowed today!!

Linda

 

Psalm 37:7  Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.  (NIV)

Do you have a special place where you can go to be still before the Lord?  How are you at waiting patiently?   I do have a place that I like to study and pray, but I’m not so good a waiting patiently!   I have a friend that when I asked her how is a certain relationship was progressing she would always tell me “I’m waiting upon the Lord.”   I did not understand her answer for the longest time.  Then the Lord had me spend some time waiting upon Him.  When I was pursuing the publishing of my book, Fearless Living, I waited upon the Lord for guidance.  I had no idea how to pursue this, but I knew that God was leading me to publish.  So I waited and prayed.  As I look back now, it still seems like a long time I prayed with no idea what direction God would lead.  I was anxious to know  the how, when and where my publishing journey would come to reality.  But slowly, God led me to take steps and  doors opened.  I was led to Certa Publishing, and it has been a wonderful match.  They are caring professional people that want to see God’s word spread by means of printed  works.   My waiting time was one of the more difficult times of my life as I knew the end but not the journey.  I had to trust and obey as the Lord led.  I now have a better understanding of my friend’s patient answer.  “I’m waiting upon the Lord.”   I also see more clearly how God wants me to live my life.  He wants to guide and direct my path as He knows my journey’s pathway.  I need to trust Him as I know the end of my journey will be with Him in eternity.

The last of today’s lines reminds us again to not fret.  God does not want us to focus on those around us and their seeming success, but keep our eyes upon Him!  This is a needed reminder as we tend to want to focus on the materialistic driven society in which we live and can be pulled and pushed away from what God intends for our lives.

Blessings as you wait quietly before God,

Linda

Psalm 37:5-6  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:  He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. (NIV)

The verbs really stand out to me today in these verses.  Look at them alone:

Commit       Trust      (He) will  do    (He) will make

Our part involves commitment and trust in the Lord.  His part is doing and making us shine with righteousness and purpose.    This is God’s recipe for success and transformation.  For our efforts in walking with Him, we will be richly rewarded with imputed righteousness from Jesus and fulfilling purpose that will shine and shed His light on others.  Even though walking with Jesus each day, trusting and being committed is a struggle against the world and our own selfish desires, God promises we will be richly rewarded.

Prayer:  Lord, create in me a desire to walk with you, to cling to you and commit myself to follow you wholeheartedly.  Shine through my life and allow me to see your work being accomplished through the purposes you have for me.  Create in me a clean heart that is fully committed to you.  Amen.

May we shine for Him,

Linda

Psalm 37:1-4      Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither like green plants they will soon die away.

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.  (NIV)

It is so easy to look at our neighbors, friends and enemies and covet what they have materialistically, the power or position they have at work or the influence they have with others- isn’t it?  The Bible repeatedly tells us wanting what others have is a sin.  My mom frequently used sayings and the one that fits here is “the grass is always greener on the other side of the street”.

These verses begin with a reminder to not fret or be envious over what others have as these things here on earth are temporal and will fade quickly like the new grass.  The grass looks good in spring but does not last even into summer.  The Lord wants our focus to be upon Him and live trusting, doing good and enjoying the life He has given to us.  He even promises us the desires of our hearts if we keep our eyes on Him.

Have you really thought about what is the desire of your heart?  I would guess that it is not something you can touch or hold but a character trait, a relationship or a spiritual truth you’d like to see developed in your life.  Only God can give those types of things and He promises that delighting and trusting in Him will lead us to those goals.

As we begin this 4th week of Lent, prayerful ask God to show you what He desires most for your life and ask Him to develop that within you.  Our willing attitude and open heart is one of the first steps in delighting and trusting in the Lord.  Then you will be on the road to obtaining the desires of your heart.

Praying with you,

Linda

Delight yourself in the LORD!

Delight yourself in the LORD!

Psalm 8 

 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  You have set your glory above the heavens. 

From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 

You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:

all flocks and herds, and the beast of the field,

the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!     (NIV)

Consider God’s great majesty and mercy as you worship Him today!

Blessings,

Linda

Psalm 8: 1-5  O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  You have set your glory above the heavens.  From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.  When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?  You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.  (NIV)

This beautiful psalm speaks of God’s majesty and how all of His creation reflects His glory and greatness.  All creation sees His work in the skies every night with the moon and the stars.  Just as all creation shouts out praises to God, our very being speaks of His grace and mercy.  He made us and cares about us.  Why me?  Why should Almighty Creator God care about me?  He created and gave us a position of honor.   I love the fact that David is questioning his worthiness in relation to God’s great power and might.  I have wondered too, why did God choose me?  He concludes the psalm with the same phrase with which he started.  All of this is due to God’s majesty and grace.  How blessed am I to be loved by Almighty God.  I agree with David that I am unworthy of this position and humbled by his mercy and love.

Think about our great God today and thank Him for choosing and loving you.  He cares and loves you!

Being loved by God is a great place to be,

Linda

Psalm 34:19-22  A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.  Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.  The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.  (NIV)

As this beautiful psalm concludes, we are given a picture of complete protections from the LORD.  He acknowledges that we will have problems and troubles in life but the LORD knows this and will defend and take care of those who would do evil towards us.  The line about protecting our bones refers to our whole being, all of me is protected by God. The promise of bones not being broken was referred to in John’s gospel as Jesus was a truly the only righteous man. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”  John 19:38.   Not one of Jesus’ bones was broken while on the cross as was the Roman custom to hasten the death of the victim.

The last verses of this psalm remind us that God is the only one who can redeem us.  His way rescues us from the condemnation of our sin and buys us back through the death of Jesus.  Our penalty should be death but God in his mercy redeemed us.  Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Not only are we redeemed, but God in his great mercy provides us a safe refuge where condemnation will not touch us.  We do serve a merciful God.

Being redeemed brings joy,

Linda

 

Psalm 34:15-18  The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.  The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.  The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.   (NIV)

Today’s passage is full of assurances that God stands against evil and watches out for us.  Righteous God promises to hear our cries, deliver, heal and save us.  What a great assurance it is to know that God hears my prayers.  Isaiah 58:9a also affirms this and says, “Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say:  Here am I”.  He also promises deliverance from our troubles.  God’s deliverance is often not what I might think.  His ways are not my ways, but His deliverance is complete and always perfectly timed.  The last lines of today’s selection bring great comfort as God promises to be close to the brokenhearted and save those who’s spirit is crushed.  God’s comfort is like a giant bear hug that brings warmth to your very soul.  His peace and healing are spiritual but He often sends someone to stand with us and give us physical healing and comfort too.

In Psalm 34 we have seen deliverance and protection in verses 4 and 7.  Blessings, refuge and provisions from God in verses 8,9 and 10.  Yesterday we looked at how to fear the LORD and to be seekers of peace.  Today the Psalmist points towards our Righteous God who will hear us, deliver and heal us.  What an awesome God we serve!

Look for those who are in need of comfort and step in to give God’s comfort to them in Jesus’ name.

May you comfort and be comforted today,

Linda

Psalm 34: 11-14  Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.  Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.  Turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it. (NIV)

Have you ever pondered what the fear of the LORD looks and acts like?  Fear means reverence, awe, honor and respect for God.  How do you translate this into your life?  This psalm gives us some concrete ways we can show fear towards the LORD and honor Him in our lives.  If we love and desire to do good things, don’t speak poorly of others and be honest in our words and thoughts and if we turn away from evil and seek peace, then we will be showing reverence and giving honor to God with our lives. These are impossible to accomplish without God’s help but setting them before us each day and striving towards them shows reverence, trust and honor for God.

As you move through this Lenten season, let you prayers reflect a desire to do good, speak well of others, shun evil and pursue peace.  Take encouragement from Jesus’ words in Matthew 17:20-21  “Because you have so little faith.  I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you  can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.” (NIV)   Be encouraged today as you seek to live as He would have you live honoring Him in what you say and do.

May we be teachable as we seek to follow Jesus,

Linda

Psalm 34: 8-10  Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.  Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.  The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. (NIV)

This Psalm is full of promises for us as believers.  Taste and see that the LORD is good tells us that we can experience the blessings of God in the things we see and taste.  We can taste things by eating but also by experiencing new things.  Here again we are reminded that God is good.  This is an integral part of His character and only God is inherently good.

blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.  God is our refuge or hiding place.  He is a place of protection and rejuvenation.  Being with God each day in His word and in prayer will bring us blessings as we seek a time of refuge with Him.   Are you seeking Him each day to receive His blessings?

Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.  The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. (NIV)   This is an amazing promise that loving and trusting in the LORD brings us to the point where we lack for nothing.  All that we need He supplies.  This is particularly encouraging when we are overwhelmed by our wants and are having difficulty deciding godly priorities in the use of our money, time and talents.  Sometimes we need to just step back and look at what we have through God’s eyes and realize that all we need is provided in Christ Jesus.  Remember Philippians 4:19  “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

Remembering my great wealth in Jesus,

Linda

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. Matthew 7:28-29