The steps of a man
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And He delights in his way."
I won't go into the details, but the Lord is using this verse to challenge me. I am just like the children of Israel, at times, forgetting the faithfulness and nearness of my God. Psalm 37 is often quoted by those who want things--"...and He will give you the desires of your heart." Yet, as with all of Scripture, this verse must be evaluated according to the context. If you look at the first couple verses, note what situation David is noticing around him. "Fret" isn't a word that we regularly use, but the issues of anxiousness, worry and panicked uncertainty are common within our social context. In that state of panic, the eyes latch on like a leech to those who are successful in the eyes of the world. Fret then is mixed with envy and there is a deadly cocktail. David reminds himself that these things, whatever he was tempted to fret about and be envious over are temporal and short lived.
The contrast of what the son and daughter of God needs to be is evident. Instead of worry, trust. "Trust in the Lord" Instead of scheming to get what the wicked have, "do good". There is a progression of cause and effect in these verses. Trust and do good leads towards"Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness." As one puts their hand to the plow and through trust begins to cultivate faithfulness (Do not grow weary in well doing comes to mind). Delight yourselves... in what, things... status... power? As you are trusting in the Lord, doing good, cultivating faithfulness where God has planted you... DELIGHT in Him who has placed you there. It is then that the Lord will give you the desires of your heart. A heart that is trusting, cultivating, and delighting in the author of delight will then see the situations around him as opportunities for further delighting God. "Commit your ways to the Lord, Trust also in Him and He will do it." All throughout this progression is trust.
David continues talking about the wicked and what will really happen to them. Yet, the Lord brought great encouragement to my heart this weekend with the verse at the top of this post. Becky and 'bella were gone this weekend to mourn the loss of Becky's aunt. I spent the weekend with friends, one in particular who was mourning the recent loss of his mom. Both are situations where one must depend on the one who holds the power of life and death in His hands. God's sovereign purposes, His divine decrees as Jonathan Edwards would call them, are pretty apparent... even when we don't feel that they are.
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