My wife is not a fan of my driving.  I was behind the wheel one day with her in the passenger seat.  She did a remarkable job of restraining herself.  She didn’t stomp on an imaginary brake or close her eyes when I passed another car. 

When we arrived, she said, “Thank you!” and I said, “You’re welcome.”  She said, “I was talking to God!”  (Just kidding!) She may not appreciate my driving, but she is on my team. She loves me and I am grateful.  This has not been true of everyone in my life.  

There was the woman who questioned my integrity and the staff member who worked to undermine me.  And then there was that guy who pulled out a handgun and said with a threatening sneer, “This is for Jim Johnson.” 

I’ll be honest, those folks made me anxious and I don’t like anxiety.  It tends to emotionally paralyze me, physically afflict me, and spiritually neuter me.  I could not control them, but I wanted to manage the anxiety they produced in me.

Psalm 37 helped.  I found David’s advice to be like a weed killer that helped choke out anxiety and promote emotional stability.   There he gave 5 threats to the frets.  The wicked around David seemed to be prevailing, while he was not.  So, he began by saying… 

37:1-3 “Be not envious toward wrongdoers.  For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb.   Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.”

When people do evil things and yet prosper, we are inclined to follow their example – to compromise or to do to them what they do to us.  David, however, tells us to take our eyes off of them; to settle down and carry on with life; to be faithful with our responsibilities and do them with integrity no matter what the wicked do.  It takes trust in the Lord to do this.

37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart’

We are to take our eyes off what seems to be the success of the wicked and to make the Lord our focus and what He provides instead.  When we delight in Him, our motives and desires align with His – and we receive everything that we need.

37:5-6: “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday.”

When we commit our way to the Lord, we are choosing to live as He would have us live and then trust Him to produce the right results. 

37:7-8: ”Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.  Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.”

We get so worked up when we are unjustly treated.  Blowing up with anger doesn’t help.  We are encouraged instead to rest – to leave the matter in the hands of God and just rest.   

37:9-11: “For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land. Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land.”

God will make sure that justice prevails. Over time, those who persecute us will fade from the picture.  God will mute their maliciousness.  We need to patiently wait in the meantime.

Today, I look back and realize that God took care of every single one of those troublesome situations just as David said He would – and I am good.  (But I do hope that the guy with the gun does not read this post).

A PRAYER: Lord God, so much to worry about – Help us rise above the frets.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you

Scripture passages are from the NASU