Trust and Delight

During the Wednesday night Bible Study at West Cannon Baptist church, I have been sharing teachings and resources to help me and others in the study learn and meditate on each week's Fighter Verses.  In these FIGHT NIGHT studies, we have been looking at the context and content of the Fighter Verses with the intent of personal application and prayer not merely information. 

I am very thankful for the opportunity to teach this Bible study but even more so I am thankful for what God has been teaching me during the preparation for these meetings.  

To gain a better understanding of Psalm 37:3 and 4, look at verses 1 and 2.

Fret not because of evildoer and be not envious of wrongdoers BECAUSE they will soon fade like gras and wither like the green herb.

What does it mean to envy?  This week's fighterverses.com devotional referred to two parts of envy.

• The first part, which could be good, is "somebody has experienced an advantage or benefit and you want that to happen to you.  That doesn't necessarily make you envious, however, because that kind of desire is okay when you're drawn to imitate saintly people."
• The second part is always bad.  "The desire is tinged with resentment that it's going well for the other person and not for you.  That's what makes it envy.

Verses 1 and 2 tell us not to worry or envy but rather, 
trust in the LORD and delight in the LORD

The bottom line of envy is 
a lack of trust in the LORD - He has given things to the wrong people.
a lack of delight in the LORD - I am not satisfied with God and what He has provided.

Do not find your joy in the circumstances of this life.
Do find your joy in the LORD.

Psalm 34

As I been reading and thinking about this Psalm I am reminded of one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 42, and a great book that talks about these verses, Spiritual Depression by Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

Here are the first 5 verses of this Psalm:

As a deer pants for flowing streamsso pants my soul for you, O God.My soul thirsts for God,for the living God.When shall I come and appear before God?My tears have been my foodday and night,while they say to me all the day long,“Where is your God?”These things I rememberas I pour out my soul:how I would go with the throngand lead them in procession to the house of Godwith glad shouts and songs of praisea multitude keeping festival.Why are you cast down, O my soul,and why are you in turmoil within me?Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,my salvation and my God. 

The writer of this Psalm talks to himself.

Here is an extended quote from Spiritual Depression that talks about this last verse of this passage.

“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?  Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning.  You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday…Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says,: ‘Self, listen for moment, I will speak to you.’”

For more about the Fighter Verses go to www.drodgersjr.com/p/fighter-verses.html