A Plan for Life

As I reread Psalm 37 the other day I was stuck by the first part which seems to suggest a plan for life. Maybe these six steps will be helpful for you as they were for me.

“Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong” (Psalm 37:1). Do not fret! I find myself worrying or becoming upset sometimes when I hear of the evil happening in our country and world. As I grow older I find myself thinking about my grandchildren and how the evil of our world affects them. I have also learned to pray more and fret less. Life is better when I’m not wasting time on worry. It’s healthier for the body, too. Besides, God is not blind to what is going on and He has promised to be with us till the end.

“Trust in the Lord and do good” (Psalm 37:3). Complete trust is hard for me. I have to remind myself there is no one, but God, who is completely dependable. He will not fail. He will never leave me or stop loving me. Romans 8:28-39 assures me of this. So I choose to trust and He helps me with the “doing good” part.

“Delight yourself in the Lord” (Psalm 37:4). My dictionary defines delight as extreme satisfaction. I have to ask myself. Do I find extreme satisfaction in the Lord? Sometimes I try to find satisfaction in things or events or maybe other people. Those are satisfying but often temporarily so. The prophet, Zephaniah says, “He (God) will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17b). Yes, I find great and lasting satisfaction in that!

“Commit your way to the Lord” (Psalm 37:5). Commitment is a big word and a big idea. Commitment involves giving up my way for God’s way. It means I keep on giving up my selfish desires and find my delight in serving Him. Verse 6 says, “He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn.”

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7). This may the hardest of all—to be still and wait. I’ve done a lot of waiting in the last few years and I’ve discovered the best way to wait patiently for the Lord is to spend time reading His Word and talking to Him in prayer. The Word helps me focus on Him. There have been times when I didn’t know how or what to pray. All I could do was claim God’s promises and hope. The Apostle Paul in Romans 8:26 tells us that the Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know what we ought to prayer for. There is hope for the Christian during dark days of waiting.

“Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil” (Psalm 37:8). There are many reasons why one may be angry. Sometimes, we are hurt by another or certain situations provoke us to anger. Unresolved anger is bad for our health and it isn’t what God wants. Unresolved anger can lead to sin so with God’s help we must let go of it. At the end of the day, I have to let God handle whatever has angered me. It’s the only way to peace of mind.

I encourage you to read Psalm 37, all 40 verses. I think you’ll find David’s words helpful as you continue this life journey on earth.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of who are moms or have mothered another.
God bless you!