Daily Devotion – February 16, 2022 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40
37:1 Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers,
37:2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
37:4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
37:5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.
37:6 He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
37:7 Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
37:8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret–it leads only to evil.
37:9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
37:10 Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
37:11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
37:39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
37:40 The LORD helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
Psalm 37 urges followers of God to focus on the Lord and not the distractions of anything else such as wicked people. Psalm 37 urges folks to attend to the Lord, and the Lord will take care of everything else.
This urging is not a plea to be passive.
This urging is a plea to be active worshipers of the Lord, trusting God for all good things to come in time.
The psalmist says we are not to fret about the wicked, since they eventually will cause their own demise. We are to use the energy and gifts God has given to us to do good in the Lord’s name. That’s it. God will take care of those who seek refuge in the Lord.
This is one reason, in challenging times, for our local churches to focus on their God-given call to mission, to form Christian community with those who don’t belong to any church and who might not even know the God we love. If we focus on God and God’s call, we will not be distracted by worry or envy or impatience. We will always be putting God’s call first and our own desires second. And after all, sometimes we are wrong and others are right. Sometimes we make mistakes about what God wants for us. Sometimes God’s very future for us arrives in an unexpected form.
If we first seek the Lord, the Lord will not let us down. God’s call to us might be quite surprising, but focusing on it will bring us into God’s preferred and promised future.
Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us this psalm about seeking the Lord and letting the wicked fade in their own time. We will always be looking in the right direction if we are looking for God’s call to us. Amen.
