A future awaits those who seek peace
Every day we're reading or listening to part of the Bible together and sharing thoughts with you. Today it’s Bern Leckie:
What did I like about today’s passage?
How are you doing in the Battle of the Bog Rolls? I find it amazing how the world seems completely different today from last month, but I love that God’s meetings with psalmist David still feel fresh and relevant, maybe now more than ever if we are under stress and seeking God.
Difficult times can bring out the best and worst in people. Can you feel it? Even the thought of shopping can be enough to put us into stressed, survival instinct “fight or flight” mode. That knocks us off balance and little tilts towards selfishness, impatience and anger can blow up into stuff which looks more like evil. But at the same time, small acts of kindness, generosity, thoughtfulness, sharing and appreciation can make a huge difference for good.
In these Psalms, I like the clarity of these two ways of life contrasted with each other, along with the recognition that good and evil live side by side in our experience. In particular, Psalm 37 addresses how good people, close to God and praising him, can still worry that evil will thrive (and have the last of the toilet paper).
The advice for how to resist evil and commit to God seem very practical and relevant to me right now. Above all, I love the promises that God and goodness will prevail, and that goodness isn’t just the product of people trying hard to be good, but being close to God.
What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?
God wants our world to be better. He has a long-term plan for involving people to make it so, which includes drawing us into relationship with him, inspiring us with the words and desires of the Holy Spirit and showing us what good life is like through Jesus.
God does not promise us a stress-free life, distant from destructive powers, but he does promise “no future for the wicked” as well as a “stronghold in time of trouble” for people who hope in him, keep his way, wait patiently and take refuge in him.
What am I going to do differently as a result?
Good and evil are described as two different kinds of people here, but I think everyone hearing them could recognise some of themselves in each. I certainly can. I also recognise how easy it can be to count myself as righteous while condemning others, even while I miss opportunities to seek God and do good. So I should pray more, and be ready for God to answer those prayers through me and my family! But what should I be praying for?
Here is how I understand Psalm 37:4, “Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” When I approach God with delight, he doesn’t just give me stuff, he gives me his desires. They become my desires too. That changes everything!
So that is what I need to do more – spend more time this week taking delight in God. This is so different from trying to map out a project plan for God to fix the world or even just my own sources of stress. I will choose to praise him, looking for how he seems to be at work, and trust that he will shape my desires so that good gets expressed more effectively than evil this week.
Who am I going to share this with?
I will talk with my family about how we approach and trust God, and what difference we are seeing this make. I’ve also got a growing list of people I’ve promised to pray for and with, so I’ll be checking in with them to find out what is helping us to take delight in God.