Well I think that Psalm 37 is a very contemporary Psalm. It is as if it was written with the world that we live in right now, the culture that we live in right now, as its focus. I would title this, "What does it look like to trust the Lord in a world gone bad?" Listen to Psalm 37:
Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
We're living in a world that clearly has walked away from the beautiful wisdom and plan of God. There is evidence of that all around us. And more and more as believers, we look like aliens. We're misunderstood and often mocked for our stance. It's hard to live in such a world, and so Psalm 37 is God-given counsel to us.
First thing that this Psalm says, and it's repeated throughout the Psalm is, don't give way to fear. Fear will never lead you anywhere good. This Psalm says it pretty clearly, "Do not fret, it only leads to evil." The things you do out of fear often are the things you live to regret.
Biblical faith will never ask you to deny reality, but if you meditate on the dark realities all around you, you're going down. So, you're able to look at reality, but you look at it through the lens of the presence and power and promises and existence of God.
Don't give way to envy. It often looks like the people around you, those that have no room for God, are doing better than you're doing and you have to fight wishing you had what they had. Remember-here's how you fight that-that their power and their pleasure is temporary. You have to look at what's going on from the vantage point of eternity. From the vantage point of eternity, this moment is but a flash. It's like a dream that evaporates.
Fourth thing he says is "Delight in the Lord." Rather than meditating on your trouble, meditate on the awesome, glorious glory of the Lord. And that has to be a daily habit.
Fifth thing, be committed to do what is good no matter what. Don't let your commitment to right be weakened by the fact that you stand alone.
I like this: "Be still and know that I am God." Be still before the Lord. Just shut up and think about the blessing of being a child of God.
Be patient. There really are good things coming. There are good things coming way beyond your ability to imagine. It's such a beautiful thing to think of what awaits us and those things are sure and secure.
Don't give way to anger; and by that, he means evil, vengeful anger. There are things going on around us that should make us angry.
Remember that the meek will inherit the earth.
Now, you've got to know you're going to fail in all of these things. But here's your hope. Jesus perfectly did all these things on our behalf. And he now sits at the right hand of the Father as an advocate for us as we live in a world gone bad!
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
1. What are a few regretful choices you have made recently out of fear? How do you think those regretful choices could have been transformed if you responded through the lens of God's power and promises and existence instead?
2. What are a few specific ways that you tend to struggle with envy as you examine the world around you? What kinds of power and pleasure in this world are you tempted to envy? Who in your life can you call on to remind you of the truth that this world is like a dream that evaporates? Make a list of those people and ask them to remind you of eternity's timeline when you struggle.
3. What specific troubling aspects of your life are easy for you to meditate on? How can you instead meditate on the awesome glory of the Lord each day? Take some time to write down a specific prayer that reminds you to meditate on the goodness and glory of God instead of your difficult circumstances. Make it a habit to return to this prayer each day.
4. As a child of God, why do you think it's so difficult for you to be patient with him even though he promises good things are coming to you?
5. Because of Jesus, why is knowing that we'll fail in all these practices ultimately a good thing, not a bad thing?
Conversation Prompts to Use with Children
For Younger Children:
• What kinds of silly things do kids and grown-ups do when they are afraid? Do you remember a time when you did something silly or unwise when you were afraid? Can you remember a time when I did something silly or unwise when you saw me reacting to fear? How can you and I practice responding well to fear together, knowing that God is in control of all things?
• Can you think of something that has made you jealous recently? Why do you think jealousy is such a dangerous thing? If you knew that God would eventually give you something much better than what you were jealous of, how do you think that jealousy might become weaker and weaker in you?
• When we fail to live the way God wants us to live, why do we still have hope? What is the good news for us even when everything around us seems like it's bad news? Why is what Jesus offers to us in a relationship with him always better than what the world can offer us?
For Older Children:
• How have you seen me make poor decisions in the past when I was faced with fear? What kinds of poor decisions have you made because you've been afraid? What can you and I do differently in the future when we're faced with fear, knowing that God is ultimately in control of every part of our lives?
• What or who have you seen lately that has made you jealous? Why do you think envy is something that's always bad? What comes as a result of someone being envious? What do you think can permanently solve the envy problem in our hearts?
• Why do you think it's so easy for you and I to obsess over all the bad things in our lives instead of the good things? How can you and I change that in each other's lives together? What daily habits can we set up together to dwell on the good things of God instead of the negative things that always seem to be so easy to think about?
• Do you think we'll fail at attempting to accomplish all that we've talked about here today? Why can that failure be a good thing instead of a bad thing? How is knowing that we'll fail something that can ultimately point us to good news? Why is Jesus good news in a world gone bad and how can that personally change you and me?
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