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Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. [Psalm 37:5] The psalmist David, having gone through the vagaries of life, and his own ups and down in his walk with the Lord, has penned these words of wisdom, that you and I may apply it in our own lives, to start with God, in the issues of life, both big and small. And, it carries with it a promise that comes to you this month, one that you can count upon for the rest of your life. Whatever may be the question in your heart, regarding what to do, or what path to take in your life’s circumstances, when you begin with God, in faith and trust, committing it into His Hand, He will certainly guide you and empower you, to bring it to pass in the right manner, so that it will be a blessing to you, and God’s Name will be glorified through it.
But, God’s word never bypasses the responsibility that lies with you, the process that is involved in seeing His promise may come to pass in your life. And, what the psalmist David has written in the beginning of the psalm, is wisdom from God, showing what should not, and need not happen in you. He describes the pitfalls that some times brought needless sorrow, and painful consequences in his own life. And therefore, as a father instructs his children out of loving care for his children, David mentions the negative behavior and attitude that will only become a stumbling block in your path towards experiencing God’s promise and His peace in your life.
‘Do not worry’:
Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. [vs 1] Fretting is a whining lament of worry, and one that comes very naturally to one and all, at some time or the other, if you give room to it. In fact, when you move on to the New Testament, the Lord Himself, commands you not to worry. [Matthew 6:25 34]
And why does He do so?
By worrying and not trusting God, you end up only hurting your own self. It also boils down to the basic truth, of every command of God, being not an arbitrary act of control and domination that is exercised by Him, but something that is for your own good. You have a heavenly Father, who knows what you need in your life; and in fact even the need that you yourself are not aware of, is something that He knows, and has also made provision for. It is why, later on, in the epistles, Paul goes on to guide you to present your requests unto God, without being anxious, but instead with thanksgiving, in order to experience the peace of God that transcends all understanding; one that guards your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 3:6,7]
And, do not envy –
Envy too, can arise in any person, especially when one sees the ones who are flaunting the commandments of God, seemingly thriving and not experiencing the consequences of it. While you on the other hand, may be walking with the Lord, and yet you may find your path laden with difficulties, and enemies surrounding you. But, the questions that can arise in you in such a context need not overwhelm you. It is the beacon light of hope that comes through the word of God, where David, finding himself in one such emotionally troubling circumstance, expresses the anguish of it as well as the answer to it. And, it can see you experiencing peace and joy that can come only as you choose to dwell in the presence of the Lord continually. Drawing near to God, fixing his eyes on Him, meditating upon God’s faithfulness, and His goodness and favor upon him, is how David overcomes the disturbance in his soul. [Psalm 73]
And, today in your life and mine, the Cross is enough. For it is where all your needs have already been met, through the new covenant, by which all that belongs to Him is yours. It becomes possible as you receive the truth of the victory of the Cross, by faith that works in you as your focus is fixed upon Him. It is as you wait upon Him, and rest in Him, by putting your trust in Him, instead of dwelling upon what is happening around you that needless fretting or irritation in your soul can be kept at bay. And therefore, what you need to do, becomes increasingly clear.
Rest in Him & wait upon Him –
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret because of one who prospers in His way; Because of the one who brings wicked schemes to pass. [vs 7] They are words from a man who declares the length of his days, and what he has observed in the course of it, saying, I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread. [vs 25] And it is also his testimony of God’s faithfulness towards His children, that he bids you to count upon, even if you are a person who is young in age, that you may spare yourself needless misery and irritation, when you see the wicked able to achieve what they desire, and seemingly prosper in life.
For what does it benefit you, if you allow yourself to become worried and irritated?
It would only lead you to anger and vexation, one that would not be profitable at all to you. And, it is with a logical reasoning, that comes through a renewing of your mind, that God’s word through the thoughts and experiences of the psalmist, leads you to the place of knowing that you need to put away the unrighteous anger in you.
Therefore, do not be angry –
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret; it only causes harm. [vs 8] Anger wells up at times, in every person, and sometimes, it can even be for the right reasons, when you see rampant injustice being meted out the downtrodden in society. But it also so very true that as God’s word has stated, the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God, the righteousness that is the right way of doing things. Lord Jesus, as He walked on earth, did become angry; but it was a righteous anger, that resulted in a right and godly way of accomplishing things. But, what David is addressing in this particular psalm, is not a righteous anger. Rather, it is an irritation, a frustrated fretfulness, which is an outburst of the sinful desires of your flesh, that always demands an immediate and uncontrolled gratification. And, it can certainly not lead to the righteousness of God being established in the situation that is irritating and kindling a sense of wrath in you.
And, it is why, in your anger, do not sin, is the counsel of God in His word. For, anger and wrath in you, when you are not in relationship with God to hear His voice, can see loose words fly from your mouth; words that you will later on surely regret. The anger of man is nothing but aggravated insanity, that needs to be put away. And, it is an emotion that can suddenly arise, even when you are a child of God. Therefore, the noble intervention of Abigail in the path of David, in order to calm him down, when he was bent on retaliating with bloodshed, against a foolish man’s careless words, is much to be appreciated. Abigail was a wise woman, who was married to a man who was not wise at all. His very name, ‘Nabal’, meant fool! And, it was David himself, who acknowledged her wisdom and courage, that led her to do what was right. For it resulted in the saving of many lives, not to say, peace instead of guilt, in his own conscience.
When you are waiting for a bus, to take you to your destination, you have to wait patiently, till it comes. And, it applies to anything that needs to happen in your life, what you are longingly awaiting. But at the same time, it is also, not about maintaining a ‘just grin and bear it’ philosophy, when things are not working out in the time, and in the manner that you want it to happen. You can do it joyfully, with a deep sense of rest in you. A rest, that does not fret! And, where do you get the strength to be patient, without whining or lamenting in distress, or envying others who have seen the same thing happen in their lives effortlessly, or worse still, getting angry and self critical about it? It is where the practical application of the truth of the verse of promise, comes into action, saying that you need to commit your way to the Lord, and trust in Him to bring things to pass, and rest and not fret, knowing that He will not fail, but will certainly do it.
For when you rush headlong into doing things with an irritated and angry impatience you will certainly end up doing things that you will not only later regret, but also end up suffering needlessly, for what goes up has to come down. It would be like the king who ordered his archers to shoot their arrows upwards, to express his anger at the rain gods, only to see them return to mortally wound some of them! And, in this psalm, David, having already lived through many a trouble and turmoil that can descend upon a person, when you do things in fretful impatience, is able to now say that, you do not have to go that way, for he has been there and done that, and it is certainly not what is good and right for you. Commit your way to the Lord, and trust in Him, is what the word of God, in the words of the psalmist, advocates.
Understanding what commitment is –
Commitment is a term that is used widely, in all walks of life, as it is something that needs to be present in a person, in various areas of his life, in order to be fruitful and purposeful. And, the words of Lord Jesus on the Cross, illumines the truth of the word, as nothing else can. It is what He cried out after the crescendo of the sorrow that He endured as He called out, ‘My God My God why have you forsaken Me?’. And there was no answer to His cry of agony. It is the thrust of His commitment to the Father, seen in the words that followed , and the paradigm that ought to shape our Christian walk too.
Not easy answers and convenient miracles:
And to many, Christian life is limited to precisely that alone! But the truth is, sometimes there are no easy and convenient answers from God. It is, very true especially in the lives of people who have lost their loved ones in painful and untimely circumstances. They would have appeared to have overcome it all, when suddenly something can happen to trigger the memory of that painful loss, and they would start reliving it all over again.
The pain of it can never be belittled or brushed aside. But the comforting truth of God’s word, the assurance of His presence, that the psalmist counts upon, is what can make the all important difference. Yes, though you walk through the valley of shadow death, you need not fear any evil, for the Lord is with you. [Psalm 23:4] But some people, in the face of unanswered questions when seemingly unjust and meaningless suffering happens in their lives, or in the lives of their loved ones, may choose to say, ‘Then why should I trust God?’, and walk away. But, the Lord who is the Way, in His prayer to the Father, knowing fully all that lay ahead of Him, has modeled in His life the way that you can opt for, even if the pain that you and I undergo in life, can in no way whatsoever, come even remotely close to what He went through on the Cross.
‘Be glorified’ –
That the Father may be glorified through it all was what the Lord prayed, saying, Now my soul is troubled; and what shall I say, Father, save Me from this hour? But, for this purpose I come to this hour. Father, glorify Your Name. [John 12:27,28] You and I will never ever know the pain of separation that the Lord went through on the Cross, to become the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. And yet, this was His prayer, as He laid down His life for us in love, that the Father’s Name may be glorified in and through it.
And, what does ‘glorifying’ mean?
The world has its’ own pet ideas about what it is. When a superstar in the film, political or sports field, experiences the saving work of grace in his life, to proclaim the Name of Christ, and worships Him in the midst of a congregation, it is spoken about as God’s Name being glorified; and it is true in a way. But, God’s glory being seen in something is far more varied and comprehensive. It is a demonstration of God’s power and His character in your life, in ways He chooses to do, and in His time.
Miracle and magic – the difference:
A miracle is a miracle, only if it happens in a manner that you never imagined. And, it is magic that a person performs any time he wants to. A miracle happens only when God chooses to. There are good things that God has planned for you, and they await you, to be fulfilled in His time. ‘When Lord?’ may be the sigh of your heart. And it is then that scriptures, and your relationship with God enters in, to counsel and comfort you. The Cross seemed to be a painful anti climax in the life of Christ, and certainly not a display of God’s glory. And yet, it was because Christ willingly submitted to it, that you and I are seated in His house today, glorifying God. The key lies in relationship. FATHER…. And, when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit My Spirit’. Having said this, He breathed His last. [Luke 23:46]
It was to His Father, that the Lord committed His Spirit. Relationship is the key, your relationship with God; knowing Him as your Father, through your relationship with Christ, as your personal Lord and Savior. The moment relationship to God in Christ, enters in, committing becomes easy. But when you take Christ out of the picture, you will begin to manufacture your own ways of receiving something from God, or pleasing Him. But all our righteous acts are like filthy rags in the sight of God. Without a relationship with God you will have questions and doubts, but the Lord committed to His Father.
And, what did the Father do?
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him, to give Him the Name above every other Name that at the Name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [Philippians 2:9-11] It is a wonderful example of what the Father can do in your life, when you commit it all to Him.
For, what is righteousness?
It is the right way of relating to God. Before the Cross, you and I were sinners. But now you have been made righteous in Christ, through the blood He has shed on the Cross, where He has dealt with your sins once and for all. And therefore, receiving Him as your Savior, you can now relate rightly with God, to also call Him your Father, all through His Son, Lord Jesus, and His finished work on the Cross of Calvary. It is in relationship, in deepened intimacy with the Father that you can commit your way to the Lord, believing in Him. But, understanding is a component of believing. And sometimes you may not understand why certain events have taken place in your life, the suffering and trials that you have had to undergo.
But, your Father knows –
Therefore, you can still believe and commit knowing that your Father knows it all. He knows your every need, the Savior has spoken, to prohibit you from worrying about your material needs. In fact, He knows, even what you do not know that you need! And it is also very true, that in some things, your finite mind may not be able to grasp an understanding of the massiveness of God’s plans, even if you are seeking a revelation of it from Him. The Lord Himself has said so to his disciples, about the many things that He has not revealed to them, because they would not be able to bear it!
It all boils down to your trust in God, your Father, in His faithfulness, though you may not have the blue print that your mind wants to see. And it develops in you, as your relationship with Him deepens. You will then know that you have a faithful God, who will never let you down. And you will be able to commit your works to Him.
I know – I believe – I am persuaded:
For I know whom I have believed, and I am fully persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. [2 Timothy 1:12] In the midst of suffering it is what Paul is able to say. And it also has to be balanced with him desiring to know Christ more and more, as he writes to the Philippian church [chapter 2:8-11] It is with a deeper knowledge of Him that you will be able to trust Him even in unfamiliar circumstances. It is a step by step process, the foundation of which is your relationship with God as your Father, through His Son Jesus Christ.
Your young child may come to you, when you are a parent, with a need, and it is a learning moment when you can guide the child to first present its’ need to God in prayer. The child then takes the first step in trusting God, for it’s needs to be met. Also, even when an ache or pain comes, it may come running to you, and when with prayer, you do what needs to be done as remedy, the little one’s observant eyes and ears, would have picked up a valuable lesson in trusting God, one that you can take forward step by step, to see the child praying to God on its’ own, committing to God all that troubles its’ tender heart! And to God the Father, you are His child. You can commit to Him even as Lord Jesus did, in His time of trial, committing Himself to the Father who judges rightly.
The posture of Christ –
Who when He was reviled, did not revile in return, when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to the One who judges righteously. [1 Peter 2:23] This needs to be your attitude and mine, in the coming days, as you commit yourself and your ways to God, the Father. Though injustice may seem to have the upper hand, you know that you have a righteous God, who judges rightly.
‘If only you knew’ –
They were the words of the Lord to the Samaritan woman. It was a conversation that began with racial and religious overtones, but eventually led to the knowledge in the woman, that Christ was the Messiah, or the Savior of the world, a knowledge that radically transformed her. [John 4:10] You, may be going through various phases in your life too, right now, and could be having questions or doubts, because of what you see around you, the injustice that appears to be flourishing, but through it all, He will bring you to a point of revelation, that leads you to a relationship with Him; one in which you will be able to know Him, trust Him and commit to Him all that is in your heart and soul. And even if it is a trouble of your own making that you are enduring now, you can go to Him in repentance and faith, to enter into a relationship with Him, that will progressively work in you and through you to change your negative circumstances, and bring peace in you.
David had questions in his heart too. But it was his relationship with God that brought the light of revelation truth into his being as he became older and closer and deeper in his walk with God. He was then able to say,’ I was young, but now I am old, and I have seen, how God can intervene to lift up the righteous, that their descendants will not suffer any lack’. [Psalm 37:25] And now in the new covenant, the righteous are the ones who are in a right relationship with God in and through Christ, to have the Spirit of adoption within them to call Him, ‘Abba, Father’, and to also commit themselves into His Hands, even as the Lord did. But, it also then needs to be followed by the practical outworking of it, the steps that flow out of committing to the Lord, to see Him bring things to pass.
1] Trust – rest – do good:
Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. [Psalm 37:3] Trusting and committing to God involves, continuing to do good, and even to people who have harmed and done you wrong.
Is it possible?
You may be wondering thus, in your heart. But, it is then that the knowledge of who God is will set you free. For ,you will know then, that He never asks you to do anything, that He has not done for you already. You and I were not good when God sent His Son to die for us on the Cross as a ransom for our sins. And now, when His Spirit is in you, He empowers you to do good, even to those who have been bad to you. He will give you the strength , wisdom and the power to do it.
2] Dwelling and feeding on His faithfulness:
Receiving and responding rightly and immediately to the word of God that comes to you each day and in your every circumstance, is what is implied in the phrase, feeding on His faithfulness. For, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. [Matthew 4:4, Deuteronomy 8:3] Dwelling in the land, abiding in His word, and trusting to commit to God becomes possible when it is His faithfulness that you count upon, and not the fickle and unfaithful nature of people, who may have wronged or betrayed you. For, He remains faithful, even when we are faithless, because He cannot deny Himself. [2 Timothy 2:13]
Therefore, to stay put, where the Lord has placed you, and start learning, is how it can be simply summarized. ‘Your words came and I ate them’, the prophet Jeremiah has expressed his love and desire for God’s word; one that saw it becoming flesh within him, giving him the strength to live by it, and not merely survive in life. [Jeremiah 15:16] Just managing to scrape by, is not God’s plan for your life, for you are His workmanship in Christ Jesus.
Stand your ground – don’t run:
When you know you are in the place and the position, where God has placed you, running away from your problem is not the answer. You need to stand your ground, for it is your position in the spiritual warfare, that is going on all around you in the heavenly realms. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against spiritual forces of evil in high places. [Ephesians 6:10 -18] It is from a place and position of victory that you go forward, your victory in Christ, that makes you a defending champion in Him, partaking of His victory over death and grave.
His Word – your delight:
And, slowly but surely, even as you persist and do not drift away, as you continue to feed on His faithfulness, the word of God will become to you a wondrous delight, as the prophet Jeremiah puts it. It will become to you a rich banquet that abundantly satisfies you, and you will know in whom you have put your trust, to commit everything into His hand, irrespective of your circumstance. Though suffering or famine comes, even in it you will know that, you will not be put to shame. [Psalm 37:19] You will move on to a place where then, His desire becomes yours, your heart beating at one with His, to know that He will surely do it, to bring to pass what He has put in your heart.
But in this place of confident commitment unto God, there are fundamental truth that you need to know and abide by You cannot do, what only God can do. It is His grace that gives. And God will not do, what you need to do. Your responsibility lies in believing what His grace is giving to you. And, to believe, He gives you the grace. Start therefore with God, and His word, to commit your works to God, and He will bring it to pass. It need not be your last resort, when all else has failed, for, ‘in the beginning was the Word’.
Vindication, and also exaltation:
It will be your experience, as you commit your ways to the Lord, even though unrighteous wickedness may be trying to overwhelm you. For, He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noon day. [Psalm 37:6] Daniel committed himself to God, when he was falsely accused, and thrown into the lion’s den. He did not resist the wicked work of those who were against him. But God brought him out safely. It was a divine vindication, that also saw a promotion in Daniel’s life, though he was already in a high position. God lifted him higher. When you are unjustly accused or treated, as you commit yourself to God, He will vindicate you, direct your steps and lift you up. He will not let you fall, for He is holding your hand. But, are you holding His hand? It is that which signifies the all important truth of your relationship with Him.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. And He delights in his way. Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand. [vs 23,24] The mind of a man plans, and the Lord directs his steps. And as you commit your way to the Lord, He will guide you in your thoughts to take the right step. And, even when you stumble in your path, you will not fall, for when you have committed to the Lord, He is holding your hand. And, all that you have committed into the hand of the Lord, your loved ones and your family, nothing will be lost; it is what the good Shepherd who has laid His life for His sheep has spoken. Wait for the Lord to exalt you, as you stay humbly submitted and committed unto Him. Riches and honor come from Him. It is He who lifts up people or brings them down. It was the truth that even an ungodly but powerful king, Nebuchadnezzar, had to acknowledge, when sanity returned to him, after being brought low!
Therefore, commit and await:
Wait on the Lord; And keep His way; And He shall exalt you to inherit the land. [vs 34] And with thanksgiving and prayer, as you surrender, and commit all to Jesus, your blessed Savior, He will help you, direct you, vindicate and exalt you. Such is the God you worship! Step forth therefore, in commitment and trust, knowing that in your relationship with God as Father, through His Son Jesus Christ, He will accomplish all that concerns you, to be a blessing to you, and bring glory and honor unto His Name. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
