by Robert Fudge

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

It is not about us. All that we are and do is tied to and dependent on the LORD. We are to trust in him, delight in him, commit to him and wait patiently for him. So instead of fretting and becoming angry when others succeed, we need to learn to just Trust in the LORD and do good. If you really want to learn to trust him more then Delight yourself in the LORD. (Rejoice in the Lord always. Phil.4:4) To delight in the LORD we must have a special relationship with him. Too many of us just “play church,” live with a guilty conscience and then wonder why we don’t enjoy serving God. (I have been there, I know.) Others are so afraid that God is just waiting to “zap” us or punish us in some way. We need to remember that God loves us enough that he gave his Son to die for us. What more proof do we need that he cares for us and wants what is best for us?

The most miserable person in the world is one who is “religious” but is not truly committed to God. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him if you want to really enjoy life. It is easier to just find fault with everyone else and to stew in our own self pity or self righteousness than it is to commit our way to the LORD. To trust him means that I have to do it his way instead of my own. To commit to him means that I really allow God to tell me what to do. But we think because someone has been unfair to us or someone has mistreated us that we are justified in holding a grudge or being bitter or discouraged to the point of despair. The sad part of this (besides not pleasing God) is that it hurts us more than it hurts anyone else when we act like this.

Perhaps the hardest part of trusting God is to Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him. That means we just forgive everyone who has wronged us and let God take care of it. It means that when we pray for something, we let God take care of it in his time and in his way. When Moses thought he was ready for service, God spent another 40 years preparing him. So when we need help in our life, we pray, trust God, do what makes sense (after praying for wisdom) and let God take care of the results. All of this reminds me of what James said in James 4:7-8: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. We cannot come closer to God if we are not fully committed and striving to please him in every way. We must spend time in studying his word to know his will. We must spend time in prayer talking to him about what is on our hearts. We must practice doing his will.

Dear God, please increase my faith and help me to really know you. Fill me with your Spirit so I may know your joy. I offer this prayer in the name of Jesus.

May God bless each of us as we live for him.